A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer / Comprising ancient and modern military technical terms, historical accounts of all North American Indians, as well as ancient warlike tribes; also notices of battles from the earliest period to the present time, with a concise explanation of terms used in heraldry and the offices thereof. The work also gives valuable geographical information. Compiled from the best authorities of all nations. With an appendix containing the Articles of war, etc.

Aar. A river in Switzerland, flows into the Rhine opposite and near Waldshut, in Aargau. Prince Charles, while crossing the river, August 17, 1799, was repulsed by the French generals Ney and Heudelet.

Aarau. A city in Switzerland. Peace was here declared, July 18, 1712, ending the war between the cantons Zurich and Berne on one side, and Luzerne, Uri, Schuyz, Unterwalden, and Zug on the other.

Abad (Abadides). A line of Moorish kings who reigned in Seville from 1026 to 1090.

Abaisse. In heraldry, when the fesse or any other armorial figure is depressed, or situated below the centre of the shield, it is said to be abaisse (“lowered”).

Abandon. In a military sense, used in the relinquishment of a military post, district, or station, or the breaking up of a military establishment. To abandon any fort, post, guard, arms, ammunition, or colors without good cause is punishable.

Abase, To. An old word signifying to lower a flag. Abaisser is in use in the French marine, and both may be derived from the still older abeigh, to cast down, to humble.

Abatement. In heraldry, is a mark placed over a portion of the paternal coat of arms, indicating some base or ungentlemanly act on the part of the bearer.

Abatis, or Abattis. A means of defense formed by cutting off the smaller branches of trees felled in the direction from which the enemy may be expected. The ends of the larger branches are sharpened and the butts of the limbs or trees fastened by crochet picket, or by imbedding in the earth, so that they cannot be easily removed. Abatis is generally used in parts of a ditch or intrenchment to delay the enemy under fire.

Abblast. See Arbalest.

Abblaster. See Arbalist.

Abdivtes. A piratical people descended from the Saracens, who lived south of Mount Ida (Psilorati), in the island of Crete (Candia), where they established themselves in 825.

Abduction (Fr.). Diminution; diminishing the front of a line or column by breaking off a division, subdivision, or files, in order to avoid some obstacle.

Abencerrages. A Moorish tribe which occupied the kingdom of Granada. Granada was disturbed by incessant quarrels between this tribe and the Zegris from 1480 to 1492. They were finally extinguished by Abou-Abdoullah, or Boabdil, the last Moorish king of Granada, and the same who was dethroned by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.

Abensburg. A small town of Bavaria, on the Abens, 18 miles southwest of Ratisbon. Here Napoleon defeated the Austrians, April 20, 1809.

Aberconway, or Conway. A maritime city of the Gauls in England, fortified by William the Conqueror, and taken by Cromwell in 1645.

Abet. In a military sense it is a grave crime to aid or abet in mutiny or sedition, or excite resistance against lawful orders.

Abgersate. Fortress of the Osrhoene, in Mesopotamia. The Persians took it by assault in the year 534.

Abii. A Scythian tribe which inhabited the shores of the Jaxartes, to the northeast of Sogdiana. They were vanquished by Alexander the Great.

Abipones. A tribe of Indians living in the Argentine Confederation, who were formerly numerous and powerful, but are now reduced to a small number.

Able-bodied. In a military sense applies to one who is physically competent as a soldier.

Ablecti. Ancient military term applied to a select body of men taken from the extraordinarii of the Roman army to serve as a body-guard to the commanding general or the consul. The guard consisted of 40 mounted and 160 dismounted men.

Abo. A Russian city and seaport, on the Aurajoki near its entrance into the Gulf of Bothnia. It formerly belonged to Sweden, but was taken with the whole of Finland by the Russians in the war begun by Sweden in 1741. By a treaty of peace concluded hero in 1743 the conquered possessions were restored to Sweden. They were ceded to Russia in 1809.

Abolla. A warm kind of military garment, lined or doubled, worn by both Greeks and Romans.

Abou-girgeh. A city of Upper Egypt where the French defeated the Egyptians in 1799.

Aboukir (anc. Canopus). A village of Egypt on a promontory at the western extremity of the bay of the same name, 15 miles northeast of Alexandria. In the bay Nelson defeated the French fleet, August 1, 1798. This engagement, which resulted in a loss to the French of 11 line-of-battle ships, is known as the “battle of the Nile.” In 1801 a British expedition under Sir Ralph Abercromby landed at Aboukir, and captured the place after an obstinate and sanguinary conflict with the French (March 8). Here also a Turkish army of 15,000 men was defeated by 5000 French under Bonaparte, July 25, 1799.

Aboumand. Village of Upper Egypt, near the river Nile, where the French fought the Arabs in 1799.

About. A technical word to express the movement by which a body of troops or artillery carriages change front.

Abraham, Heights of. Near Quebec, Lower Canada. In the memorable engagement which took place here September 13, 1759, the French under Gen. Montcalm were defeated by the English under Gen. Wolfe, who was killed in the moment of victory.

Abri (Fr.). Shelter, cover, concealment; arm-sheds in a camp secure from rain, dust, etc.; place of security from the effect of shot, shells, or attack.

Absence, Leave of. The permission which officers of the army obtain to absent themselves from duty. In the U.S. service an officer is entitled to 30 days’ leave in each year on full pay. This time he may permit to accumulate for a period not exceeding 4 years. An officer, however, may enjoy 5 months’ continuous leave on full pay, provided the fifth month of such leave is wholly distinct from the four-year period within and for which the 4 months’ absence with full pay was enjoyed. An officer on leave over this time is entitled to half-pay only.

Absent. A term used in military returns in accounting for the deficiency of any given number of officers or soldiers, and is usually distinguished under two heads, viz.: Absent with leave, such as officers with permission, or enlisted men on furlough. Absent without leave; men who desert are sometimes reported absent without leave, to bring their crimes under cognizance of regimental, garrison, or field-officers’ courts; thus, under mitigating circumstances, trial by general court-martial is avoided. Absence without leave entails forfeiture of pay during such absence, unless it is excused as unavoidable. An officer absent without leave for three months may be dropped from the rolls of the army by the President, and is not eligible to reappointment.

Absolute Force of Gunpowder. Is measured by the pressure it exerts on its environment when it exactly fills the space in which it is fired. Various attempts have been made to determine this force experimentally with widely different results. Robins estimated the pressure on the square inch at 1000 atmospheres, Hutton at 1800, and Count Rumford as high as 100,000 atmospheres. While Rodman, by experiments upon strong cast-iron shells, verified the accuracy of Rumford’s formulas, he found that his estimate of the force was greatly in error. According to Rodman the pressure is approximately 14,000 atmospheres. Dr. Woodbridge, another American philosopher and inventor, has shown that, fired in small quantities, the force of gunpowder does not exceed 6200 atmospheres. This agrees closely with the conclusion arrived at by the English “Committee on Explosives,” 1875, who found that even in large guns the force did not exceed 42 tons.

Absorokas. A tribe of North American Indians. See Crows.

Absterdam Projectile. See Projectile.

Abydus. An ancient city of Mysia on the Hellespont nearly opposite Sestus on the European shore. Near this town Xerxes placed the bridge of boats by which his troops were conveyed across the channel to the town of Sestus, 480 B.C.

Abyssinia. A country of Eastern Africa, forming an elevated table-land and containing many fertile valleys. Theodore II., the king of this country, having maltreated and imprisoned some English subjects, an expedition under Lord Napier was sent against him from Bombay in 1867. On April 14, 1868, the mountain fortress of Magdala was stormed and taken with but little trouble, and Theodore was found dead on the hill, having killed himself. The country is at present governed by Emperor John of Ethiopia, who was crowned in 1872.

Academies, Military. See Military Academies.

Accelerator. A cannon in which several charges are successively fired to give an increasing velocity to the projectile while moving in the bore. See Multi-charge Gun.

Accessible. Easy of access or approach. A place or fort is said to be accessible when it can be approached with a hostile force by land or sea.

Accintus. A word in ancient times signifying the complete accoutrements of a soldier.

Accolade. The ceremonious act of conferring knighthood in ancient times. It consisted of an embrace and gentle blow with the sword on the shoulder of the person on whom the honor of knighthood was being conferred.

Accord. The conditions under which a fortress or command of troops is surrendered.

Accoutre. To furnish with accoutrements.

Accoutrements. Dress, equipage, trappings. Specifically, the equipments of a soldier, except arms and clothing.

Accused. In a military sense, the designation of one who is arraigned before a military court.

AcerrÆ (now Acera). A city in the kingdom of Naples, taken and burned by Hannibal in 216 B.C. In 90 B.C. the Romans defeated under its walls the allied rebels commanded by Papius.

AcerrÆ. A city of the Gauls, taken by Marcellus in 222 B.C.

AchÆan League. A confederacy which existed from very early times among the twelve states of the province of Achaia, in the north of the Peloponnesus. It was broken up after the death of Alexander the Great, but was set on foot again by some of the original cities, 280 B.C., the epoch of its rise into great historical importance; for from this time it gained strength, and finally spread over the whole Peloponnesus, though not without much opposition, principally on the part of LacedÆmon. It was finally dissolved by the Romans, on the event of the capture of Corinth by Mummius, 147 B.C. The two most celebrated leaders of this league were Aratus, the principal instrument of its early aggrandizement, and Philopoemen, the contemporary and rival, in military reputation, of Scipio and Hannibal.

Achern. A city in the grand duchy of Baden, on the river Acher. Near this place a monument marks the spot where Marshal Turenne was killed by a random shot in 1675.

Acheron. A small stream in ancient Bruttium. In 330 B.C., Alexander, king of Epirus, was killed while crossing it.

Acinaces. A short sword used by the Persians.

Aclides. In Roman antiquity, a kind of missile weapon with a thong fixed to it whereby it might be drawn back again.

Acoluthi. In military antiquity, was a title given in the Grecian empire to the captain or commander of the body-guards appointed for the security of the emperor’s palace.

Aconite. A poisonous plant. Several ancient races poisoned their arrows with an extract from this plant.

Acontium. In Grecian antiquity, a kind of dart or javelin resembling the Roman spiculum.

Acquereaux (Fr.). A machine of war, which was used in the Middle Ages to throw stones.

Acqui. A walled town of the Sardinian states on the river Bormida in the division of Alessandria. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1745, retaken by the Piedmontese in 1746; it was dismantled by the French, who defeated the Austrians and Piedmontese here in 1794.

Acquit. To release or set free from an obligation, accusation, guilt, censure, suspicion, or whatever devolves upon a person as a charge or duty; as, the court acquits the accused. This word has also the reflexive signification of “to bear, or conduct one’s self;” as, the soldier acquitted himself well in battle.

Acquittance Roll. In the British service, a roll containing the names of the men of each troop or company or regiment, showing the debts and credits, with the signature of each man, and certificate of the officer commanding it.

Acre, or St. Jean d’Acre. A seaport town of Palestine (in ancient times the celebrated city of Ptolemais), which was the scene of many sieges. It was last stormed and taken by the British in 1840. Acre was gallantly defended by Djezzar Pacha against Bonaparte in July, 1798, till relieved by Sir Smith, who resisted twelve attempts by the French, between March 16 and May 20, 1799.

Acre, or Acre-fight. An old duel fought by warriors between the frontiers of England and Scotland, with sword and lance. This dueling was also called camp-fight.

Acrobalistes (Fr.). A name given by the ancients to warlike races, such as the Parthians and Armenians, who shot arrows from a long distance.

Acropolis. In ancient Greece, the name given to the citadel or fortress of a city, usually built on the summit of a hill. The most celebrated was that of Athens, remains of which still exist.

Acs. A village in Hungary on the right bank of the Danube, noted as the scene of several battles in the Hungarian revolution, that of August 3, 1849, being the most important.

Acting Assistant Surgeons. See Surgeons, Acting Assistant.

Action. An engagement between two armies, or bodies of troops. The word is likewise used to signify some memorable act done by an officer, soldier, detachment, or party.

Actium (now Azio). A town of ancient Greece in Arcanania, near the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf. It became famous for the great naval engagement fought near here in 31 B.C. between Octavius and Antony, in which the former was victorious.

Active Service. Duty against an enemy; operations in his presence. Or in the present day it denotes serving on full pay, on the active list, in contradistinction to those who are virtually retired, and placed on the retired list.

Activity. In a military sense, denotes attention, labor, diligence, and study.

Acto, or Acton. A kind of defensive tunic, made of quilted leather or other strong material, formerly worn under the outer dress and even under a coat of mail.

Act of Grace. In Great Britain, an act of Parliament for a general and free pardon to deserters from the service and others.

Actuarius. A name given by the Romans to officers charged with the supplying of provisions to troops.

Adacted. Applies to stakes, or piles, driven into the earth by large malls shod with iron, as in securing ramparts or pontons.

Adda. A stream in Italy. The Romans defeated the Gauls on its banks in 223 B.C.

Addiscombe Seminary. An institution near Croydon, Surrey, England, for the education of young gentlemen intended for the military service of the East India Company; closed in 1861.

Aden. A free port on the southwest corner of Arabia. It was captured by England in 1839, and is now used as a coal depot for Indian steamers.

Aderbaidjan (Fr.). A mountainous province of Persia, celebrated for raising the finest horses in the province for army purposes.

Adige (anc. Athesis). A river in Northern Italy formed by numberless streamlets from the Helvetian Alps. In 563 the Romans defeated the Goths and Franks on its banks. Gen. Massena crossed it in 1806.

Adis. A city in Africa. Xantippe, chief of the Carthaginians, defeated under its walls the Romans commanded by Regulus.

Adit. A passage under ground by which miners approach the part they intend to sap.

Adjeighur. A fortress in Bundelcund, which was captured in 1809 by a force under the command of Col. Gabriel Martindell.

Adjourn. To suspend business for a time, as from one day to another; said of military courts. Adjournment without day (sine die), indefinite postponement.

Adjutant (from adjuvo, “to help”). A regimental staff-officer with the rank of lieutenant, appointed by the regimental commander to assist him in the execution of all the details of the regiment or post. He is the channel of official communication. It is his duty to attend daily on the commanding officer for orders or instructions of any kind that are to be issued to the command, and promulgate the same in writing after making a complete record thereof. He has charge of the books, files, and men of the headquarters; keeps the rosters; parades and inspects all escorts, guards, and other armed parties previous to their proceeding on duty. He should be competent to instruct a regiment in every part of the field exercise, should understand the internal economy of his corps, and should notice every irregularity or deviation from the established rules or regulations. He should, of course, be an officer of experience, and should be selected with reference to special fitness, as so much depends upon his manner and thoughtfulness in the exercise of the various and important duties imposed upon him. Unexceptionable deportment is especially becoming to the adjutant.

Adjutant-General. An officer of distinction selected to assist the general of an army in all his operations. The principal staff-officer of the U.S. army. The principal staff-officers of generals of lower rank are called assistant adjutant-generals.

Adjutant-General’s Department. In the United States, consists of 1 adjutant-general with the rank of brigadier-general; 2 assistant adjutant-generals, colonels; 4 lieutenant-colonels, and 10 majors; also about 400 enlisted clerks and messengers. The officers are generally on duty with general officers who command corps, divisions, departments, etc. “They shall also perform the duties of inspectors when circumstances require it.” The lowest grades must be selected from the captains of the army.

Administration. Conduct, management; in military affairs, the execution of the duties of an office.

Administration, Council of. A board of officers periodically assembled at a post for the administration of certain business.

Admissions. In a military sense, the judge-advocate is authorized when he sees proper to admit what a prisoner expects to prove by absent witnesses.

Adobe (Sp.). An unburnt brick, dried in the sun, made from earth of a loamy character, containing about two-thirds fine sand mixed intimately with one-third or less of clayey dust or fine sand.

Adour. A river in the southwest of France, which Lord Wellington, after driving the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte across the Pyrenees, passed in the face of all opposition, on the 26th of February, 1814.

Adrana. A river in Germany, at present called Eder. Germanicus defeated the Germans on its bank in 15.

Adrianople. A Turkish city named after the Emperor Adrian; unsuccessfully besieged by the Goths in the 4th century; the army of Murad I. took the city in 1361; unconditionally surrendered to the Russians in August, 1829; peace was declared in this city between Russia and Turkey, September 14, 1829, and the city relinquished to the Turks.

Adrumetum, or Hadrumetum. An ancient African city, now in ruins, situated on the Mediterranean, southeast from Carthage. The Moors took this city from the Romans in 549, but it was retaken soon after by a priest named Paul.

Advance. Before in place, or beforehand in time; used for advanced; as, advance-guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; to move forward.

Advanced Covered Way. Is a terre plein on the exterior of the advanced ditch, similar to the first covered way.

Advanced Ditch. Is an excavation beyond the glacis of the enceinte, having its surface on the prolongation of that slope, that an enemy may find no shelter when in the ditch.

Advanced Guard. A detachment of troops which precedes the march of the main body.

Advanced Guard Equipage. See Pontons.

Advanced Lunettes. Works resembling bastions or ravelins, having faces or flanks. They are formed upon or beyond the glacis.

Advanced Works. Are such as are constructed beyond the covered way and glacis, but within range of the musketry of the main works.

Advancement. In a military sense, signifies honor, promotion, or preferment in the army, regiment, or company.

Advantage Ground. That ground which affords the greatest facility for annoyance or resistance.

Adversary. Generally applied to an enemy, but strictly an opponent in single combat.

Advising to Desert. Punishable with death or otherwise, as a court-martial may direct. See Appendix, Articles of War, 51.

Advocate, Judge-. See Judge-Advocate.

Adynati. Ancient name for invalid soldiers receiving pension from the public treasury.

Ægide (Æges). A name, according to Homer, for a protecting covering wound around the left arm in the absence of a shield; used by Jupiter, Minerva, and Apollo.

Ægolethron (Gr.). A plant. This word means goat and death. It was believed by the ancients that this plant would kill goats only, if eaten by them. Xenophon reports that the soldiers of the army of the “Ten Thousand” tasted of some honey prepared from this plant which caused them to be affected with hallucinations.

Ægospotamos (“Stream of the Goat”). A small river flowing into the Hellespont, in the Thracian Chersonese; is famous for the defeat of the Athenian fleet by the LacedÆmonians under Lysander, which put an end to the Peloponnesian war, and to the predominance of Athens in Greece, 405 B.C.

Æneatores. In military antiquity, the musicians in an army, including those who sounded the trumpets, horns, etc.

Ærarium Militare. In Roman antiquity, the war treasury of Rome, founded by Augustus; in addition to other revenues, the one-hundredth part of all merchandise sold in Rome was paid into it.

Æro. A basket used by the Roman soldiers to carry earth in to construct fortifications.

Ærumnula. A wooden pole or fork, introduced among the Romans by Consul Marius. Each soldier was provided with one of these poles, which had attached thereto a saw, hatchet, a sack of wheat, and baggage; and he was compelled to carry it on a march.

Affair. An action or engagement, not of sufficient magnitude to be termed a battle.

Affamer (Fr.). To besiege a place so closely as to starve the garrison and inhabitants.

Affidavit. In military law is an oath duly subscribed before any person authorized to administer it. In the U.S. service, in the absence of a civil officer any commissioned officer is empowered to administer an oath.

Afforciament. An old term for a fortress or stronghold.

Afghanistan. A large country in Central Asia, at war with England 1838, and 1878-79.

Afrancesados (Sp.). Name given to the Spaniards who upheld the oath of allegiance to king Joseph Bonaparte; also called Josephins (in the Peninsular war).

Aga. Rank of an officer in the Turkish army; the same as a general with us.

Age. In a military sense, a young man must be 14 years old before he can become an officer in the English army, or be entered as a cadet at Woolwich, in the English military academy. For admission to the military academy at West Point, U.S., the age is from 17 to 22 years. Men are enlisted for soldiers at from 17 to 45 in the English army, and in the U.S. army at from 18 to 35. Officers in the U.S. army may be retired, at the discretion of the President, at 62 years of age.

Agema (Gr.). In the ancient military art, a kind of soldiery, chiefly in the Macedonian army. The word is Greek, and denotes vehemence, to express the strength and eagerness of this corps.

Agen. Principal place of the department Lot-et-Garonne, France, on the right bank of the river Garonne, which has a city of the same name, and was the scene of many battles.

Agency. A certain proportion of money which is ordered to be subtracted from the pay and allowances of the British army, for transacting the business of the several regiments comprising it.

Agent, Army. A person in the civil department of the British army, between the paymaster-general and the paymaster of the regiment, through whom every regimental concern of a pecuniary nature is transacted.

Agger. In ancient military writings, denotes the middle part of a military road raised into a ridge, with a gentle slope on each side to make a drain for the water, and keep the way dry; it is also used for a military road. Agger also denotes a work or fortification, used both for the defense and attack of towns, camps, etc., termed among the moderns, lines. Agger is also used for a bank or wall erected against the sea or some great river to confine or keep it within bounds, and called by modern writers, dam, sea-wall.

Agiades. In the Turkish armies are a kind of pioneers, or rather field engineers, employed in fortifying the camp, etc.

Agiem-clich. A very crooked sabre, rounded near the point; an arm much in use in Persia and Turkey.

Agincourt, or Azincourt. A village of France, celebrated for a great battle fought near it in 1415, wherein Henry V. of England defeated the French.

Agmen. Roman name for an army on the march.

Agminalis. Name given by the ancients to a horse which carried baggage, equipments, etc., on its back; now termed pack-horse.

Agnadello. Village in the duchy of Milan, on a canal between the rivers Adda and Serio, celebrated by the victory of Louis XII., king of France, over the Venetian and Papal troops in 1509, and by a battle between Prince Eugene and the Duke of VendÔme in 1705.

Agrigente (now Girgenti). City in Sicily, situated on the Mediterranean; sacked by the Carthaginians under Amilcar in 400 B.C., and taken twice by the Romans in 262 and 210 B.C.

Aguebelle. City in the province of Maurienne, in Savoy. The French and Spaniards defeated the troops of the Duke of Savoy in 1742.

Aguerri (Fr.). A term applied to an officer or soldier experienced in war.

Agustina. See Saragossa, Maid of.

Ahmednuggur. A strong fortress in the Deccan, 30 miles from Poonah, which was formerly in the possession of Scindia, but fell to the British arms during the campaign conducted by Gen. Wellesley.

Aidan (Prince). See Scotland.

Aid-de-camp. An officer selected by a general to carry orders; also to represent him in correspondence and in directing movements.

Aid-major (Fr.). The adjutant of a regiment.

Aigremore. A term used by the artificer in the laboratory, to express the charcoal in a state fitted for the making of powder.

Aiguille (Fr.). An instrument used by engineers to pierce a rock for the lodgment of powder, as in a mine, or to mine a rock, so as to excavate and make roads.

Aiguillettes. A decoration, consisting of bullion cords and loops, which was formerly worn on the right shoulder of general officers, and is now confined to the officers of household cavalry; also worn in the U.S. army by officers of the adjutant-general’s department, aids-de-camp, and adjutants of regiments.

Aiguillon. A city in France; while in the possession of the English in 1345, it was besieged by the Duke of Normandy, son of Philip de Valois. According to some authors, cannons were used on this occasion for the first time in France.

Aile (Fr.). A wing or flank of an army or fortification.

Ailettes (Fr.). Literally “little wings,” were appendages to the armor worn behind or at the side of the shoulders by knights in the 13th century. They were made of leather covered with cloth, and fastened by silk laces. They are supposed to have been worn as a defense to the shoulders in war.

Aim. The act of bringing a musket, piece of ordnance, or any other missive weapon, to its proper line of direction with the object intended to be struck.

Aim-frontlet. A piece of wood hollowed out to fit the middle of a gun, to make it of an equal height with the breech; formerly made use of by the gunners, to level and direct their pieces.

Aiming Drill. A military exercise to teach men to aim fire-arms. Great importance is justly attached to this preliminary step in target practice.

Aiming-stand. An instrument used in teaching the theory of aiming with a musket. It usually consists of a tripod with a device mounted upon it, which holds the gun and allows it to be pointed in any direction.

Ainadin. Name of a field near Damas in Syria, celebrated by a battle on July 25, 633, in which Khaled, chief of the Saracens, defeated Verdan, a general of the Roman army. Verdan lost 50,000 men and was decapitated.

Ain-Beda (Africa). An engagement at this place between the French and Arabs in October, 1833.

Ain Taguin. “Spot of the little desert,” in the province of Algiers; here the Duke d’Aumale surprised and dispersed the troops of Abd-el-Kader.

Air-cylinder. A pneumatic buffer used in America to absorb the recoil of large guns. For 10-inch guns, one cylinder is used; for the 15-inch, two. They are placed between the chassis rails, to which they are firmly secured by diagonal braces. A piston traversing the cylinder is attached to the rear transom of the top carriage. When the gun recoils the piston-head is drawn backwards in the cylinder, and the recoil is absorbed by the compression of the air behind it. Small holes in the piston-head allow the air to slowly escape while the gun is brought to rest. The hydraulic buffer largely used abroad operates in the same way, water being used in place of air.

Air, Resistance of. The resistance which the air offers to a projectile in motion. See Projectiles, Theory of.

Aire. A military position on the Adour, in the south of France, where the French were defeated by the English under Lord Hill, on March 2, 1814.

Air-gun. An instrument resembling a musket, used to discharge bullets by the elastic force of compressed air.

Aix. A small island on the coast of France between the Isle of Oleron and the continent. It is 12 miles northwest of Rochefort, and 11 miles from Rochelle. On it are workshops for military convicts.

Aix-la-Chapelle (Ger. Aachen). A district in the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine. Here Charlemagne was born in 742, and died in 814. The city was taken by the French in 1792; retaken by the Austrians in 1793; by the French 1794; reverted to Prussia 1814. Congress held by the sovereigns of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, assisted by ministers from England and France, at Aix-la-Chapelle, and convention signed October 9, 1818.

Akerman (Bessarabia). After being several times taken it was ceded to Russia, 1812. Here the celebrated treaty between Russia and Turkey was concluded in 1826.

Aketon. Another name for a portion of armor, used in the feudal times, called the gambeson (which see).

Akhalzikh (Armenia). Near here Prince Paskiewitch defeated the Turks Aug. 24, and gained the city, Aug. 28, 1828.

Akindschi. A sort of Turkish cavalry, employed during the war between the Turks and the German emperors.

Aklat. A small town in Asiatic Turkey, taken by Eddin in 1228, and by the Turks in the 14th century.

Akmerjid. A city in the Crimea; an ancient residence of the khan of Tartary; taken by the Russians in 1771.

Akoulis. A city in Armenia, often pillaged by the Persians and Turks; taken in 1752 by the Persian general Azad-Khan, by whom the majority of the inhabitants were put to the sword.

Akrebah. At this place, about the year 630, Khaled, general of the Mussulman troops, fought the army of a new prophet named Mosseilamah, who perished in the combat.

Ala. According to Latin authors, this word signifies the wing of an army, i.e., the flanks, on which were placed troops furnished by the allied nations; also sometimes used to designate a brigade of cavalry occupying the same position in battle.

Alabama. One of the Southern States of the American confederacy, is bounded on the north by Tennessee, east by Georgia, south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Mississippi. The celebrated exploring expedition of De Soto in 1541 is believed to have been the first visit of the white man to the wilds of Alabama. In the beginning of the 18th century the French built a fort on Mobile Bay, but the city of that name was not commenced till nine years later (1711). In 1763, the entire French possessions east of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) fell into the hands of the English. Alabama was incorporated first with Georgia, afterwards, in 1802, with the Mississippi Territory; but finally, in 1819, it became an independent member of the great American confederacy. In 1813 and 1814 the Creek Indians waged war on the settlers and massacred nearly 400 whites who had taken refuge at Fort Mimms, on the Alabama River. They were, however, soon reduced to subjection by Gen. Jackson, and after their defeat at Horseshoe Bend, March, 1814, the greater portion of their territory was taken from them, and they were subsequently removed to the Indian Territory. On the outbreak of the civil war in 1861, the temporary capital of the Confederate States was established at Montgomery, Ala., but it was soon afterwards removed to Richmond, Va.

Alabanda (Bour Dogan, or Arab Hissar). A city in Asia Minor; destroyed by Labienus, a Roman general, in 38 B.C.

Alacays. Name given by the ancients to a kind of soldiery, and afterwards to servants following an army.

Alage. A mounted guard of the Byzantine emperors, doing duty in the palace of Constantinople, and defending, in case of danger, the person of the emperor.

Alaibeg. A Turkish commander of regiments of levied troops.

Alamo, Fort, or The Alamo. A celebrated fort in Bexar County, near San Antonio, Texas, where a small garrison of Texans bravely resisted a body of Mexicans ten times their number, and perished to a man, March 6, 1836. This spot has hence been called the ThermopylÆ of Texas, and “Remember the Alamo!” was used as the battle-cry of the Texans in their war of independence.

Alanda. Name of a legion formed by Julius CÆsar from the best warriors of the Gauls.

Aland Isles (Gulf of Bothnia). Taken from Sweden by Russia, 1809. See Bomarsund.

Alani. A Tartar race; invaded Parthia, 75; were subdued by the Visigoths, 452, and eventually incorporated with them.

Alarcos (Central Spain). Here the Spaniards under Alfonso IX., king of Castile, were totally defeated by the Moors, July 19, 1195.

Alares. Name given by the Romans to troops which were placed on the wings of an army; these troops were generally furnished by allies.

Alarm. A sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise, or the notice of such attack being actually made. It is generally signified by the discharge of fire-arms, the beat of a drum, etc.

Alarm Gun. A gun fired to give an alarm.

Alarm Post. In the field, is the ground appointed by the quartermaster-general for each regiment to march to, in case of an alarm. In a garrison, it is the place allotted by the governor for the troops to assemble on any sudden alarm.

Alaska. A large territory forming the northwest part of North America, which was purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867, and was annexed as a county to Washington Territory in 1872. The native inhabitants are Esquimaux, Indians, and Aleuts, with a few persons of Russian descent.

Alba de Tormes. A city in Spain, where the French defeated the Spaniards in 1809.

Albana. A city in ancient Albania, situated on the coast of the Caspian Sea; a wall was constructed to the west of the city for the purpose of staying the progress of the Scythians, by Darius I., or by Chosrois.

Albania. A province in European Turkey, formerly part of the ancient Epirus, a scene of many battles; a revolt in Albania was suppressed in 1843.

Albanians, or Albaniers. The inhabitants of the Turkish territory of Albania, are a very brave and active race, and furnish the best warriors for the Turkish army.

Albans, St. (Hertfordshire, Eng.). Near the Roman Verulam; first battle of St. Albans took place in May, 1455, between the Houses of Lancaster and York, wherein the former were defeated, and King Henry VI. taken prisoner; second battle took place in February, 1461, wherein Queen Margaret totally defeated the Yorkists and rescued the king.

Albe. A city in Naples, situated near the Lake Celano; in ancient times it was an important city in Samnium.

Albeck. A village in WÜrtemberg where 25,000 Austrians, under the command of Gen. Mack, were defeated by 6000 French in 1805.

Alberche. A river of Spain, which joins the Tagus near Talavera de la Reyna, where, in 1809, a severe battle was fought between the French army and the allied British and Spanish troops, in which the former were defeated.

Albe-Royale. A city in Lower Hungary, which sustained several sieges.

Albesia. In antiquity, a kind of shield, otherwise called decumana.

Albi. A city in the department of Tarn, France; pillaged by the Saracens in 730, and taken by Pepin in 765.

Albigenses. A sect of heretics, who were in existence during the 12th and 13th centuries, and inhabited Albi, France; fought many battles; went to Spain in 1238, where they were slowly exterminated.

Albuera. A small village near the river Guadiana, in Spain, where the French army under Marshal Soult was defeated by the British and Spanish forces under Marshal, afterwards Lord, Beresford, March 16, 1811.

Albufera (Spain, East Central). A lagoon, near which the French marshal Suchet (afterwards Duke of Albufera), defeated the Spaniards under Blake, January 4, 1812; this led to his capture of Valencia, January 9.

Alcacsbas (Portugal). A treaty was concluded here between Alfonso V. of Portugal and Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile.

Alcantara. A creek near Lisbon, on the banks of which a battle was fought between the Spaniards under Alva and the Portuguese under Antonio de Crato (prior of the Maltese order).

Alcantara, Order of. Knights of a Spanish military order, who gained a great name during the wars with the Moors.

Alcassar, or Alcacar. A fortified city in Morocco, situated between Ceuta and Tangier; the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Portuguese seized this city in 1468.

Alcazar-Quiver. A city near Fez, Northwest Africa, where the Moors totally defeated the Portuguese, whose gallant king, Sebastian, was slain August 4, 1578.

Alcmaer. A city in Holland; besieged by the Spaniards in 1573 without success; here the British and Russians were defeated by the French in 1799.

Aldenhofen. A village of the Prussian Rhenish province, where the French, under Gen. Miranda, were defeated by Archduke Charles, March 1, 1793; the Austrians were defeated March 18, 1793.

Aldershott, Camp. A moor near Farnham, about 35 miles from London. In April, 1854, the War Office, having obtained a grant of £100,000, purchased 4000 acres of land for a permanent camp for 20,000 men; additional land was purchased in 1856. The camp is used as an army school of instructions.

Aldionaire (Aldionarius). A sort of equerry, who in the army was kept at the expense of his master. Under Charlemagne, the aldionaires were of an inferior rank.

Alem. Imperial standard of the Turkish empire.

Alemanni (or all men, i.e., men of all nations, hence Allemannen, German). A body of Suevi, who took this name; were defeated by Caracalla, 214. After several repulses they invaded the empire under Aurelian; they were subdued in three battles, 270. They were again vanquished by Julian, 356-57. They were defeated by Clovis at Tolbiac (or Zulpich), 496. The Suabians are their descendants.

Alemdar. An official who carries the green banner of Mahomet (Mohammed), when the sultan assists in ceremonies of solemnity.

AlenÇon (Northern France). Gave title to a count and duke. Martel, count of Anjou, seized this city, which was retaken by William the Conqueror in 1048. It was the scene of many battles.

Aleppo (Northern Syria). A large town named Beroea Seleucus Nicator about 299 B.C. It was taken by the Turks in 638; by Saladin, 1193, and sacked by Timur, 1400. Its depopulation by the plague has been frequent; 60,000 persons were computed to have perished by it in 1797; and many in the year 1827. On October 16, 1850, the Mohammedans attacked the Christians, burning nearly everything. Three churches were destroyed; five others plundered, and thousands of persons slain. The total loss of property amounted to about a million pounds sterling; no interference was attempted by the pasha.

Aleria. An important city in Corsica, at the mouth of the river Tavignano; was taken in 259 B.C. by the Romans under Consul Cornelius.

Alert. Watchful; vigilant; active in vigilance; upon the watch; guarding against surprise or danger.

Alesia, or Alisia. Now called Alise-Sainte-Reine, a city in the department of Cote-d’Or. This city was besieged and taken by the Romans in 52 B.C.; it was one of the greatest events of CÆsar’s war in Gaul.

Alessandria. A city of Piedmont, built in 1168, under the name of CÆsarea by the Milanese and Cremonese, to defend the Tanaro against the emperor, and named after Pope Alexander III. It has been frequently besieged and taken. The French took it in 1796, but were driven out July 21, 1799. They recovered it after the battle of Marengo, in 1800, and held it until 1814, when the strong fortifications erected by Napoleon were destroyed. They have been restored since June, 1856.

Alet, or Aleth. A small city in the department of Ande, France; was taken by the Protestants in 1573.

Aleut. An inhabitant of the Aleutian Islands. These people differ both from the Indians of the neighboring continent and the Esquimaux farther north. They are expert hunters of the seal and other animals. They are industrious and peaceful, but addicted to drunkenness.

Aleutian Islands. A number of islands stretching from the peninsula of Alaska in North America to Kamtschatka in Asia. The greater number belong to the territory of Alaska.

Alfere, or Alferez. Standard-bearer; ensign; cornet. The old English term for ensign; it was in use in England till the civil wars of Charles I.

Alford (Northern Scotland), Battle of. Gen. Baillie, with a large body of Covenanters, was defeated by the Marquis of Montrose, July 2, 1645.

Alfuro. A city in Navarre, Spain. The British proceeded against the city in 1378, the garrison being absent; they found the women ranged on the ramparts disposed to defend the place. Capt. Tivet, commander of the English forces, would not attack the brave women, but retreated and did not molest the place.

Algebra. A peculiar kind of mathematical analysis allied to arithmetic and geometry.

Algidus. A mountain-range in Latium, Italy, where Cincinnatus defeated the Æqui in 458 B.C.

Algiers (now Algeria, Northwest Africa). Part of the ancient Mauritania, which was conquered by the Romans, 46 B.C.; by the Vandals, 439; recovered for the empire by Belisarius, 534, and subdued by the Arabs about 690. The city of Algiers was bombarded a number of times, and finally taken by the French in 1830. Algeria at present belongs to France.

Algonkins, or Alogonquins. One of the two great families of Indians who formerly peopled the country east of the Mississippi. The Chippewas are at present the most numerous race descended from this stock.

Alhama. A city in Spain, in the province of Granada. It was a most important fortress when the Moors ruled Granada, and its capture by the Christians in 1482 was the most decisive step in the reduction of their power.

Alhambra. The ancient fortress and residence of the Moorish monarchs of Granada; founded by Mohammed I. of Granada about 1253; surrendered to the Christians in November, 1491.

Ali Bey. Colonel of Turkish cavalry; also the rank of a district commander.

Alibi (Lat. “elsewhere”). An alibi is the best defense in law if a man is innocent; but if it turns out to be untrue, it is conclusive against those who resort to it.

Alicante. A fortified city and seaport in Spain, where the French defeated the Spaniards in a naval battle, April 1, 1688.

Alidade. The movable arm or rule carrying the sights of an angle-measuring instrument.

Alien. In law, implies a person born in a foreign country, in contradistinction to a natural born or naturalized person.

Alife (Alifa). A city in the kingdom of Naples, where Fabius defeated the Samnites in 307 B.C.

Alighur. See Allyghur.

Align. To form in line as troops; to lay out the ground-plan, as of a road.

Alignment. A formation in straight lines, for instance, the alignment of a battalion means the situation of a body of men when drawn up in line. The alignment of a camp signifies the relative position of the tents, etc., so as to form a straight line from given points.

Aliwal. A village on the banks of the Sutlej, contiguous to the Punjab, where a British division, commanded by Maj.-Gen. Sir Henry Smith, on the 29th of January, 1846, encountered and defeated a superior body of Sikhs.

Aljubarrota (Portugal). Here John I. of Portugal defeated John I. of Castile, and secured his country’s independence, August 14, 1385.

Alkmaer. See Bergen-op-Zoom.

Allahabad (Northwest Hindostan). The holy city of the Indian Mohammedans, situated at the junction of the rivers Jumna and Ganges; founded by Akbar, in 1583; incorporated with the British possessions in 1803. During the Indian mutiny several Sepoy regiments rose and massacred their officers, June 4, 1857; Col. Neil marched promptly from Benares and suppressed the insurrection. In November, 1861, Lord Canning made this the capital of the northwest provinces.

Allecrete. Light armor used by both cavalry and infantry in the 16th century, especially by the Swiss. It consisted of a breastplate and gussets, often reaching to the middle of the thigh, and sometimes below the knees.

Allecti Milites. A name given by the Romans to a body of men who were drafted for military service.

Allegiance. In law, implies the obedience which is due to the laws. Oath of Allegiance is that taken by an alien, by which he adopts America and renounces the authority of a foreign government. It is also applied to the oath taken by officers and soldiers in pledge of their fidelity to the state.

Allegiant. Loyal; faithful to the laws.

Allia (Italy). A small river flowing into the Tiber, where Brennus and the Gauls defeated the Romans, July 16, 390 B.C. The Gauls sacked Rome and committed so much injury that the day was thereafter held to be unlucky (nefas), and no public business was permitted to be done on its anniversary.

Alliage (Fr.). A term used by the French to denote the composition of metals used for the fabrication of cannon, mortars, etc.

Alliance. In a military sense, signifies a treaty entered into by sovereign states for their mutual safety and defense. In this sense alliances may be divided into such as are offensive, where the contracting parties oblige themselves jointly to attack some other power; and into such as are defensive, whereby the contracting powers bind themselves to stand by and defend one another, in case of being attacked by any other power. Alliances are variously distinguished according to their object, the parties in them, etc. Hence we read of equal, unequal, triple, quadruple, grand, offensive, defensive alliances, etc.

Alligati. A name given by the Romans to prisoners of war and their captors. A chain was attached to the right wrist of the prisoner and the left wrist of the warrior who captured him.

Allobroges. A powerful race in ancient Gaul; inhabited a part of Savoy; vanquished by Fabius Maximus, 126 B.C.

Allocutio. An oration addressed by a Roman general to his soldiers, to animate them to fight, to appease sedition, or to keep them to their duty.

Allodial. Independent; not feudal. The Allodii of the Romans were bodies of men embodied on any emergency, in a manner similar to our volunteer associations.

Allonge. A pass or thrust with a rapier or small sword, frequently contracted into lunge; also a long rein used in the exercising of horses.

Allowance. A sum paid periodically for services rendered. The French use the word traitment in this sense. The allowances of an officer are distinct from his pay proper, and are applicable to a variety of circumstances.

Alloy. Is a composition by fusion of two or more metals. The alloy most used for gun-making is bronze (which see).

Allumelle. A thin and slender sword which was used in the Middle Ages, to pierce the weak parts or joints of armor.

Ally. In a military sense, implies any nation united to another,—under a treaty either offensive or defensive, or both.

Allyghur. A strong fortress on the northwest of India, which was captured, after a desperate conflict, by Lord Lake, in 1803. The French commander-in-chief, Gen. Perron, surrendered himself after the siege.

Alma. A river in the Crimea, near which was fought a great battle on September 20, 1854, between the Russian and Anglo-French armies; the Russians were defeated with great loss.

Almadie. A kind of military canoe or small vessel, about 24 feet long, made of the bark of a tree, and used by the negroes of Africa. Almadie is also the name of a long boat used at Calcutta, often from 80 to 100 feet long, and generally 6 or 7 broad; they are rowed with from 10 to 30 oars.

Alman-rivets, Almain-rivets, or Almayne-rivets. A sort of light armor derived from Germany, characterized by overlapping plates which were arranged to slide on rivets, by means of which flexibility and ease of movement were promoted.

Almaraz, Bridge of. In Spain, which on the 18th of May, 1812, was captured by Lord Hill, when he defeated a large French corps d’armÉe, which was one of the most brilliant actions of the Peninsular war.

Almeida. A strong fortress of Portugal, in the province of Beira. The capture of it by the Duke of Wellington, in 1811, after it had fallen into the hands of the French, was deemed a very brilliant exploit.

Almenara, or Almanara. City in Spain, in the province of Lerida, where, in 1710, Gen. Stanhope, with 4 regiments of dragoons and 20 companies of grenadiers, defeated a Spanish corps, composed of 4 battalions and 19 escadrons.

Almeria. City and seaport in Andalusia, Spain; captured from the Moors in 1147, by the united troops of Alfonso VII., king of Castile, Garcias, king of Navarre, and Raymond, count of Barcelona.

Almexial, Battle of. Between the Spaniards and Portuguese in 1663. The Portuguese were commanded by Sanctius Manuel, count of Vilaflor, and the celebrated Count Frederick von Schomberg, the latter being the veritable hero of the day. The Portuguese gained a great victory; the Spanish army was commanded by Don Juan of Austria, son of Philip IV.

Almissa (Dalminium). City in Dalmatia, Austria; it was the ancient capital of Dalmatia, but was ruined by Scipio Nasica in 156 B.C.

Almogavares. See Catalans.

Almohades. Mohammedan partisans, followers of El-Mehedi in Africa, about 1120. They subdued Morocco, 1145; entered Spain and took Seville, Cordova, and Granada, 1146-56; ruled Spain until 1232, and Africa until 1278.

Almonacid-de-Zorita. A town in the province of Guadalaxara, Spain, where the French defeated the Spaniards in 1809.

Almora. City in Bengal, which the English captured in 1815, and still hold.

Almoravides. Mohammedan partisans in Africa, rose about 1050; entered Spain by invitation, 1086; were overcome by the Almohades in 1147.

Alney. An island in the Severn, Gloucestershire, England. Here a combat is asserted to have taken place between Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great, in the sight of their armies. The latter was wounded, and proposed a division of the kingdom, the south part falling to Edmund. Edmund was murdered at Oxford shortly after, it is said, by Aedric Streon, and Canute obtained possession of the whole kingdom, 1016.

Alnwick (Sax. Elnwix). On the river Alne in Northumberland, England, was given at the Conquest to Ivo de Vesco. It has belonged to the Percies since 1310. Malcolm, king of Scotland, besieged Alnwick in 1093, where he and his sons were killed. It was taken by David I. in 1136, and attacked in 1174, by William the Lion, who was defeated and taken prisoner. It was owned by King John in 1215, and by the Scots in 1448. Since 1854 the castle has been repaired and enlarged with great taste and at unsparing expense.

Alost. A city in Belgium, captured and dismantled by Turenne in 1667, then abandoned to the allies after the battle of Ramillies, in 1706.

Alps. European mountains. Those between France and Italy were passed by Hannibal, 218 B.C.; by the Romans, 154 B.C., and by Napoleon I., May, 1800.

Alsace. See Elsass.

Altenheim. A village on the banks of the Rhine, grand duchy of Baden, where the French under Count de Lorges fought the Imperials, July 30, 1675, neither side being victorious; the French army retreated after the death of Turenne.

Altenkirchen. A town in the Prussian Rhine province, where several battles were fought during the war of the Republic, in one of which Gen. Marceau was killed, while protecting the retreat of Gen. Jourdan, September 20, 1796.

Altiscope. A device which enables a person to see an object in spite of intervening obstacles. In gunnery it is used to point a piece without exposing the person of the gunner. The simplest form consists of a small mirror set in the line of the sights, which reflects the sights and the object aimed at to the eye of the gunner. This form of reflecting sight is used with the Moncrieff counterpoise carriage, and has been recently proposed by Col. Laidley (U.S. Ordnance Corps) for small-arms.

Altitude. Height, or distance from the ground, measured upwards, and may be both accessible and inaccessible. Altitude of a shot or shell, is the perpendicular height of the vortex of the curve in which it moves above the horizon. Altitude of the eye, in perspective is a right line let fall from the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical plane.

Alumbagh. A palace with other buildings near Lucknow, Oude, India, taken from the rebels and heroically defended by the British under Sir James Outram, during the mutiny, September, 1857. He defeated an attack of 30,000 Sepoys on January 12, 1858, and of 20,000 on February 21.

Aluminium Bronze. An alloy of copper and aluminium, having great strength and hardness. See Ordnance, Metals for.

Alure. An old term for the gutter or drain along a battlement or parapet wall.

Alveda. An ancient city in Spain, where a battle was fought between Ramire I., king of the Austurias, and the Moors under the famous Abdolrahman, or Abd-el-Rahm; according to Spanish history, the Moors lost 60,000 men.

Amantea, or Amantia. City and seaport in Naples; sustained a siege against the French in 1806. It is believed that this city is the ancient Nepetum.

Amazons. Female warriors. Tribes, either real or imaginary, belonging to Africa and Asia, among which the custom prevailed for the females to go to war; preparing themselves for that purpose by destroying the right breast, in order to use the bow with greater ease. According to Greek tradition, an Amazon tribe invaded Africa, and was repulsed by Theseus, who afterwards married their queen. Hence all female warriors have been called Amazons.

Amberg. A town in Bavaria, where the French were defeated by the Austrians in 1796.

Ambit. The compass or circuit of any work or place, as of a fortification or encampment, etc.

Ambition. In a military sense, signifies a desire of greater posts or honors. Every person in the army or navy ought to have a spirit of emulation to arrive at the very summit of the profession by his personal merit.

Amblef. Ancient residence of the kings of France on the river of the same name, in Germany. Here Charles Martel defeated Chilperic II. and Rangenfroi, mayor of the Neustrians, 716.

Ambulances. Are flying hospitals, so organized that they can follow an army in all its movements, and are intended to succor the wounded as soon as possible; a two- or four-wheeled vehicle for conveying the wounded from the field; called also an ambulance-cart.

Ambuscade. A snare set for an enemy either to surprise him when marching without precaution, or to draw him on by different stratagems to attack him with a superior force.

Ambush. A place of concealment where an enemy may be surprised by a sudden attack.

Ame. A French term, similar in its import to the word chamber, as applied to cannon, etc.

Amende Honorable (Fr.). In the old armies, of France, signified an apology for some injury done to another, or satisfaction given for an offense committed against the rules of honor or military etiquette, and was also applied to an infamous kind of punishment inflicted upon traitors, parricides, or sacrilegious persons, in the following manner: The offender being delivered into the hands of the hangman, his shirt stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; then he was led into the court, where he begged pardon of God, the court, and his country. Sometimes the punishment ended there; but sometimes it was only a prelude to death, or banishment to the galleys. It prevails yet in some parts of Europe.

Amenebourg. A place in Hanover which was captured from the English by the French in 1762.

AmentatÆ. A sort of lance used by the Romans, which had a leathern strap attached to the centre of it.

Amentum. A leathern strap used by the Romans, Greeks, and Galicians, to throw lances. It was fastened around the second and third fingers, a knot was tied on it, which at the throwing of the lance loosened itself.

America. One of the great divisions of the earth’s surface, so called from Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator, who visited South America in 1499. It is composed of two vast peninsulas called North and South America, extending in a continuous line 9000 miles, connected by the Isthmus of Panama or Darien, which is only 28 miles wide at its narrowest part. The physical features of this large continent are on a most gigantic scale, comprising the greatest lakes, rivers, valleys, etc., in the world; and its discovery, which may be said to have doubled the habitable globe, is an event so grand and interesting that nothing parallel to it can be expected to occur again in the history of mankind. Upon its discovery, in the latter half of the 15th century, colonists, settlers, warriors, statesmen, and adventurers of all nations began to flock to its shores, until after a lapse of nearly four centuries of wars, struggles, civilization, progress, and amalgamation of the more powerful races, and weakness and decay of the effete, it ranks in wealth and enlightenment as the first of the great divisions of the earth. Of the different races, governments, etc., occupying its area, it is not necessary here to speak; events of importance in their histories will be found under appropriate headings in this work.

Ames Gun. The rifled guns made by Mr. Horatio Ames, of Falls Village, Conn., are made of wrought iron on the built-up principle. See Ordnance, Construction of.

Amiens. A city in Picardy (Northern France). It was taken by the Spaniards March 11, and retaken by the French September 25, 1587. The preliminary articles of the peace between Great Britain, Holland, France, and Spain were signed in London by Lord Hawkesbury and M. Otto, on the part of England and France, October 1, 1801, and the definitive treaty was subscribed at Amiens, March 27, 1802, by the Marquis of Cornwallis for England, Joseph Bonaparte for France, Azara for Spain, and Schimmelpennick for Holland. War was declared in 1803.

Amisus. A city in the ancient kingdom of Pontus, fortified by Mithridates, and captured by Lucullus in 71 B.C.

Ammedera. An ancient city in Africa, where the rebel Gildon was defeated by Stilicho in 398.

Ammunition. Is a term which comprehends gunpowder, and all the various projectiles and pyrotechnical composition and stores used in the service. See Ordnance, Ammunition for.

Ammunition Bread. That which is for the supply of armies and garrisons.

Ammunition-chest. See Ordnance for Caisson.

Ammunition Shoes. Those made for soldiers and sailors in the British service are so called, and particularly for use by those frequenting the magazine, being soft and free from metal.

Ammunition, Stand of. The projectile, cartridge, and sabot connected together.

Amnesty. An act by which two belligerent powers at variance agree to bury past differences in oblivion; forgiveness of past offenses.

Amnias. A stream in Asia near which the army of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, was defeated by the troops of Mithridates in 92 B.C.

Amorce (Fr.). An old military word for fine-grained powder, such as was sometimes used for the priming of great guns, mortars, or howitzers; as also for small-arms, on account of its rapid inflammation. A port-fire or quick-match.

Amorcer (Fr.). To prime; to decoy, to make a feint in order to deceive the enemy and draw him into a snare; to bait, lure, allure.

Amorcoir (Fr.). An instrument used to prime a musket; also for a small copper box in which were placed the percussion-caps.

Amoy. A town and port in China, which was taken by the troops under Sir Hugh Gough, assisted by a naval force, in August, 1841.

Ampfing. A village in Bavaria, where Louis, king of Bavaria, defeated Frederick of Austria in 1322; here Gen. Moreau was attacked by a superior force of Austrians in 1800, and accomplished his celebrated retreat.

Amphea. A city of Messenia, captured by the LacedÆmonians in 743 B.C.

Amphec. A city in Palestine where the Philistines defeated the Israelites in the year 1100 B.C.

Amphictyonic Council. A celebrated congress of deputies of twelve confederated tribes of ancient Greece, which met twice every year. The objects of this council were to insure mutual protection and forbearance among the tribes, and for the protection of the temple of Delphi.

Amphipolis (now Emboli). A city situated on the Strymon in Macedonia; was besieged in 422 B.C., by the Athenians, where Cleon their chief was killed. Philip of Macedon captured the city in 363.

Amplitude. In gunnery, is the range of shot, or the horizontal right line, which measures the distance which it has run.

Ampoulette (Fr.). A wooden cylinder which contains the fuze of hollow projectiles.

Amsterdam. The capital of Holland. It was occupied by the French general Pichegru on January 19, 1795, and by the Prussians in 1813.

Amstetten. A village on the highway between Ems and Vienna, where the Russians were defeated by the French under Murat, November 5, 1805.

Amusette (Fr.). A brass gun, of 5 feet, carrying a half-pound leaden ball, loaded at the breech; invented by the celebrated Marshal Saxe. It is no longer used.

AmyclÆ. An ancient town of Laconia, on the right bank of the Eurotas, famous as one of the most celebrated cities of the Peloponnesus in the heroic age. It is said to have been the abode of Castor and Pollux. This town was conquered by the Spartans about 775 B.C.

Anabash. In antiquity, were expeditious couriers, who carried dispatches of great importance in the Roman wars.

Anacara. A sort of drum used by the Oriental cavalry.

Anacleticum. In the ancient art of war, a particular blast of the trumpet, whereby the fearful and flying soldiers were rallied to the combat.

Anah. A city in Asiatic Turkey, which was captured and devastated in 1807 by the Wahabites, who were a warlike Mohammedan reforming sect.

Anam, or Annam, Empire of. Also called Cochin China, an empire in Southeastern Asia, which became involved in a war with France (1858-62), concluded by a treaty by which the emperor of Anam ceded the provinces of Cochin China, Saigon, Bienhoa, and Mytho to France. Subsequently three other provinces were annexed to France in 1867.

Anapa. A city in Circassia which was fortified by the Turks in 1784; stormed and taken by the Russians in 1791.

Anarchy. Want of government; the state of society where there is no law or supreme power, or where the laws are not efficient, and individuals do what they please with impunity; political confusion; hence, confusion in general.

Anatha. A fort on an island of the Euphrates; taken by Julian the Apostate in 363.

Anatolia, Nadoli, or Natolia. The modern name of Asia Minor, a peninsula in the most western territory of Asia, extending northward from the Mediterranean to the Euxine, or Black Sea, and eastward from the Grecian Archipelago to the banks of the Euphrates. It is a part of the Turkish dominions, and was in ancient times the seat of powerful kingdoms and famous cities.

Anazarba, or Anazarbus. A city in Asia Minor, where the Christians were defeated by the Saracens in 1130.

Anazehs. Nomadic Arabs, who infested the desert extending from Damas to Bagdad; they often laid under contribution the caravans on the way to Mecca.

Ancile. In antiquity, a kind of shield, which fell, as was pretended, from heaven, in the reign of Numa Pompilius; at which time, likewise, a voice was heard declaring that Rome would be mistress of the world as long as she should preserve this holy buckler.

Ancona. An ancient Roman port on the Adriatic. In 1790 it was taken by the French; but was retaken by the Austrians in 1799. It was occupied by the French in 1832; evacuated in 1838; after an insurrection it was bombarded and captured by the Austrians, June 18, 1849. The Marches (comprising this city) rebelled against the papal government in September, 1800. Lamoriciere, the papal general, fled to Ancona after his defeat at Castelfidardo, but was compelled to surrender himself, the city and the garrison, on September 28. The king of Sardinia entered soon after.

Ancyra. A town in ancient Galatia, now Angora, or Engour, Asia Minor. Near this city, on July 28, 1402, Timur, or Tamerlane, defeated after a three days’ battle and took prisoner the sultan Bajazet, and is said to have conveyed him to Samarcand in a cage.

AndabatÆ. In military antiquity, a kind of gladiators who fought hoodwinked, having a kind of helmet that covered the eyes and face. They fought mounted on horseback, or on chariots.

Andaman Islands. A group of small islands in the Bay of Bengal, which has been used by Great Britain as a penal colony for Hindoos. The Earl of Mayo, governor-general of India, was assassinated here by a convict, February 8, 1872.

Anderlecht. A town near Brussels, in Belgium, where the French under Gen. Dumouriez defeated the Austrians, November 13, 1792.

Andernach. A city in Rhenish Prussia; near here the emperor Charles I. was totally defeated by Louis of Saxony, on October 8, 876.

Andersonville. A post-village of Sumter Co., Ga., about 65 miles south-southwest of Macon. Here was located a Confederate military prison in which Union soldiers were confined during the civil war. So severe was the treatment which they received here (nearly 13,000 having died), that a general feeling of horror was excited against the superintendent, Capt. Henry Wirz; and after the close of the war he was tried for inhuman treatment of the prisoners, found guilty, and executed November, 1865. The place is now the site of a national cemetery.

Andrew, St., or The Thistle, Order of. A nominally military order of knighthood in Scotland. The principal ensign of this order is a gold collar, composed of thistles interlinked with amulets of gold, having pendent thereto the image of St. Andrew with his cross and the motto, Nemo me impune lacessit.

Andrew, St., Knights of. Is also a nominal military order instituted by Peter III. of Muscovy in 1698.

Andrussov, Peace of. This peace was ratified (January 30, 1667) between Russia and Poland for 13 years, with mutual concessions, although the latter power had been generally victorious.

Anelace, or Anlace. A kind of knife or dagger worn at the girdle by civilians till about the end of the 15th century.

Anemometer, or Wind-gauge. An instrument wherewith to measure the direction and velocity of wind under its varying forces,—used in the Signal service.

Aneroid Barometer. A pocket instrument indicating variations in atmospheric pressure. Used in military surveys to obtain the height of mountains. It consists of a circular metallic box, hermetically sealed, from which the air has been extracted. The play of the thin, metallic cover under atmospheric pressure, is made to operate a hand pointing to a scale on the dial-face.

Angaria. According to ancient military writers, means a guard of soldiers posted in any place for the security of it. Angaria, in civil law, implies a service by compulsion; as, furnishing horses and carriages for conveying corn and other stores for the army.

Angeliaphori. Reconnoitring parties of the Grecian army.

Angel-shot. A kind of chain-shot. See Chain-shot.

Angers. Principal city of the department of Maine-et-Loire, France. It was sacked by the Normans during the 9th century; taken and retaken several times by the Bretons, English, and French.

Anghiari. A city of Tuscany, where the Florentines under Berardino Ubaldini were defeated by the Milanese general Torello, in 1425, and in 1440 the Florentine general Orsini defeated the Milanese general Piccinino.

Angle. In geometry, is the inclination of two lines meeting one another in a point, or the portion of space lying between two lines, or between two or more surfaces meeting in a common point called the vertex. Angles are of various kinds according to the lines or sides which form them. Those most frequently referred to in fortification and gunnery are:

Angle, Flanked, or Salient, is the projecting angle formed by the two faces of a bastion.

Angle, Interior Flanking, is that which is formed by the meeting of the line of defense and the curtain.

Angle of Arrival. The angle of arrival is the angle which the tangent to the trajectory at the crest of the parapet makes with the horizon.

Angle of Departure, or Angle of Projection, is the angle which the tangent makes with the horizontal at the muzzle.

Angle of Elevation, or Angle of Fire, in gunnery, is that which the axis of the barrel makes with the horizontal line.

Angle of Fall, in gunnery, is the angle made at the point of fall by the tangent to the trajectory with a horizontal line in the plane of fire.

Angle of Fire, in gunnery, is the angle included between the line of fire and horizon; on account of the balloting of the projectile, the angle of fire is not always equal to the angle of departure, or projection.

Angle of Incidence is that which the line of direction of a ray of light, ball from a gun, etc., makes at the point where it first touches the body it strikes against, with a line drawn perpendicularly to the surface of that body.

Angle of Reflection is the angle intercepted between the line of direction of a body rebounding after it has struck against another body, and a perpendicular erected at the point of contact.

Angle of Sight, in gunnery, is the angle included between the line of sight and line of fire. Angles of sight are divided into natural and artificial angles of sight, corresponding to the natural and artificial lines of sight, which inclose them. See Pointing.

Angle of the Centre is the angle formed at the centre of the polygon by lines drawn thence to the points of two adjacent bastions.

Angle of the Epaule, or Shoulder, is formed by one face and one flank of the bastion.

Angle of the Face is formed by the angle of the face and the line of defense produced till they intersect each other.

Angle of the Line of Defense is that angle made by the flank and the line of defense.

Angle of the Polygon is that formed by the meeting of two of the sides of the polygon; it is likewise called the polygon angle.

Angle of the Tenaille, or Flanking Angle, is made by two lines fichant,—that is, the faces of the two bastions extended until they meet in an angle towards the curtain, and is that which always carries its point towards the outworks.

Angle, Re-entering. An angle whose vertex points inward, or towards the place. A re-entering angle which is not defended by a flanking fire is said to be dead.

Angles. An ancient German tribe from which England derives its name. They occupied a narrow district in the south of Sleswick, whence some of them passed over in the 5th century, in conjunction with other Saxon tribes, into Britain, where they conquered the native Britons, and established the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. See Heptarchy.

Anglou. A place in Armenia where a Persian army 4000 strong defeated and cut to pieces a Roman army of 30,000, in 543.

Angon. In ancient military history, was a kind of a dart of modern length, having an iron beaded head and cheeks; in use about the 5th century. This sort of javelin was much used by the French. The iron head of it resembled a fleur-de-lis.

Angora. See Ancyra.

Angouleme. A city in the department of Charente, France. It was ruined by the Normans during the 9th century, and devastated several times during the 16th century.

Anguis. A flag adopted by the Romans, which was carried at the head of a cohort (the tenth part of a Roman legion, consisting of 600 men); this flag resembled a serpent in shape, and was more commonly called draco.

Angusticlave. A robe or tunic embroidered with purple studs or knobs, and with narrow purple stripes, worn by Roman knights, to distinguish them from members of the senatorian order, who wore a garment with broad stripes, called latus clavus.

Anholt, Island of (Denmark). Was taken possession of by England, May 18, 1809, in the French war, on account of Danish cruisers injuring British commerce. The Danes made an attempt to regain it with a force which exceeded 1000 men, but were gallantly repulsed by the British force, not amounting to more than 150, March 27, 1811.

Animate, To. In a military sense, is to encourage, to incite, to add fresh impulse to any body of men who are advancing against an enemy, or to prevent them from shamefully abandoning their colors in critical situations.

Anime (Fr.). A sort of ancient cuirass, also called brigandine; was used in Italy until the 17th century, under the name of anima, or animetta.

Anio (now Teverone). A river of ancient Italy, an affluent of the Tiber. On its banks the Romans gained two great battles over the Gauls, one by Camillus about 367 B.C., and the other about sixty years afterwards.

Aniocrater. The highest military rank of the LacedÆmonians; one who commanded the whole army during the absence of the king.

Anippus. Name of the light cavalry of the Grecians.

Anisocycle. An ancient machine of a spiral form, like the spring of a watch, used for throwing arrows to a great distance.

Anitorgis. A city in Spain, near which Asdrubal, general of the Carthaginians, gained a memorable battle over the Romans under Scipio and his brother Publius, in 212 B.C.

Anjou, or Beauge, Battle of. Between the English and French; the latter commanded by the Dauphin of France, March 22, 1421. The English were defeated; the Duke of Clarence was slain by Sir Allan Swinton, a Scotch knight, and 1500 men perished on the field; the Earls of Somerset, Dorset, and Huntingdon were taken prisoners. Beauge was the first battle that turned the tide of success against the English.

Annals. A species of military history, wherein events are related in the chronological order they happened. They differ from a perfect history, in being only a mere relation of what passes every year, as a journal is of what passes every day.

AnnatinÆ. Were transport-ships (so called by Julius CÆsar) in which were transported provisions, etc., to armies and fleets. Also called CorbitÆ.

Anneau d’Or (Fr.). A gold ring. In accordance with the example of the ancients, Francis I. of France instituted a military recompense in the shape of an anneau, for all who distinguished themselves in any military enterprise.

Annee de Corbie (Fr.). Name given to the year 1636, when the capture of Corbie (by the Austrians), a small city of the department of the Somme, France (during the war which Richelieu had decided to undertake against the Austrian house), nearly caused the overthrow of France.

Anne, St., Order of. An order of knighthood, originally established in Holstein, and carried with the princes of that country into Russia. It was made a Russian order in 1796, and is now widely diffused.

Annihilate. To reduce to nothing; to destroy the existence of; to cause or cease to be; as, the army was annihilated.

Annoy. To injure or disturb by continued or repeated acts; to incommode or molest; as, to annoy an army by impeding their march, or by a continued cannonade.

Annuity. A sum of money payable yearly, to continue for a given number of years, for life or forever; an annual allowance. The U.S. government furnishes annuities and annuity goods to certain tribes of Indians.

Annul. To make void, or of no effect; to abrogate; to rescind;—used of laws, decisions of courts, or other established rules, permanent usages, and the like, which are made void by competent authority.

Annunciada. An order of military knighthood in Savoy, first instituted by Amadeus I. in the year 1409; their collar was of fifteen links, interwoven one with another, and the motto “F. E. R. T.,” signifying fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit. Amadeus VIII. changed the image of St. Maurice, patron of Savoy, which hung at the collar, for that of the Virgin Mary, and instead of the motto above mentioned, substituted the words of the angel’s salutation. Now extinct.

Anse des Pieces (Fr.). A term for the handles of cannon. Those of brass have two, those of iron seldom any. These handles serve to pass cords, handspikes, or levers through, the more easily to move so heavy a body, and are made to represent dolphins, serpents, etc.

Antandros (now St. Dimitri). A city of Troas, inhabited by the Leleges, near which Æneas built his fleet after the destruction of Troy.

Antecessores, or Antecursores. Light cavalry of the Romans, which formed the advance-guard of an army while on the march.

Antemuraille. In ancient military art, denoted what now the moderns generally call the outworks.

Antepilani. Soldiers of a Roman legion who composed the first and second ranks in line of battle, and who were accordingly placed in front of the third rank. The first rank was called hastati, the second principes, and the third pilani, or triarii.

Antequera. A city in Spain, formerly fortified; besieged and captured from the Moors by Ferdinand of Castile, September 16, 1410; he also defeated under the walls of this city the Moorish king of Toledo, who had an army of 100,000 men.

Antesignani. A name given to the soldiers of the Roman army who protected the colors, etc.; according to some authorities they were the hastati or principes, and according to others they were a select detachment consisting of picked soldiers.

Antestature (Fr.). A small intrenchment or work formed of palisades or sacks of earth.

Anthony, St., Knights of. A military order instituted by Albert, Duke of Bavaria, Holland, and Zealand, when he designed to make war against the Turks in 1382. The knights wore a collar of gold made in the form of a hermit’s girdle, from which hung a stick like a crutch, with a little bell, as they are represented in St. Anthony’s pictures.

Antibes. A city in the department of Alpes Maritimes, France. It was ruined some time after the capture of Marseilles by CÆsar. This city was fortified by Francis I. and Henry IV.; besieged without success by the Imperials in 1746.

Anti-corrosion. A lacker applied to iron traversing platforms, gun-carriages, and the outside of guns. See Lacker.

Antietam. A small, deep river in Maryland, which empties into the Potomac about 6 miles above Harper’s Ferry. Here was fought a terrible battle on September 17, 1862, between the Federals, under Gen. McClellan, and the Confederates, under Gen. Lee. After his victory at Bull Run, August 30, Lee invaded Maryland, and was immediately followed by McClellan. On September 16, Lee was joined by Jackson. The battle on which was staked “the invasion of Maryland,” in the view of the Federal government, but in reality the sovereignty of the Union, was near at hand. On the night of the 15th the greatest part of McClellan’s troops were in bivouac behind the heights on the left bank of the Antietam, sheltered from, but within range of, the enemy’s batteries. The morning of the 16th was occupied in reconnoissance of the enemy’s position, in rectifying the position of the Federal troops, and perfecting the arrangements for the attack. At about 3 o’clock P.M. Gen. Hooker crossed the Antietam by the bridge in the village on the Hagerstown road, and an adjacent ford, and soon gained the crest of the height on the right bank of the stream. He then turned to his left and followed down the ridge under a strong opposition, until brought to a standstill by the darkness. Gen. Mansfield was ordered to follow Gen. Hooker, so as to be in a position to support him at daybreak.

At daybreak on the 17th, Gen. Hooker attacked the forces in his front, and for a time drove them before him. The enemy, however, rallying, and strengthened from their supporting columns, repulsed him. Gen. Mansfield’s corps was then drawn to Hooker’s support, and the two masses repelled the enemy. Gen. Mansfield was killed and Gen. Hooker wounded at this crisis, and obliged to withdraw from the field. Gen. Sumner’s corps soon reached this portion of the field and became hotly engaged. This corps suffered greatly at this period of the contest, Gens. Sedgwick and Crawford being wounded, and portions of the line were compelled to fall back. The enemy, however, were checked by the Federal artillery. Sumner’s corps was soon reinforced, and the lost ground was recovered. The contest in the mean time on the right was most obstinate, and the losses in this part of the field were very heavy. Gen. Burnside’s corps, on the left, was ordered early in the day to carry the bridge across the Antietam and to attack the enemy’s right. The approaches to the bridge being in the nature of a defile, and being swept by batteries of the enemy, the opposite bank of the Antietam was only reached after a severe struggle. It was afternoon before the heights were in his possession. The enemy were driven back, and a portion of their line in disorder. By the most desperate efforts, however, the enemy rallied their retreating regiments, strengthened their lines with all their available fresh troops, and opened batteries on the hills.

Gen. Burnside could not maintain his advantage, and was obliged to withdraw from the extreme position which he had gained to one slightly in rear. He, however, held his bank of the river completely, and maintained much ground beyond it which he had taken from the enemy. During the advance on the left Gen. Rodman was wounded.

Notwithstanding substantial and decided successes of the day, the Federal forces had suffered so severely during the conflict, having lost 11,426 killed and wounded, and among them many general and superior officers, that it was deemed prudent by Gen. McClellan to reorganize and give rest and refreshment to the troops before renewing the attack. The 18th was accordingly devoted to those objects. On the night of the 18th, however, Gen. Lee withdrew his forces hastily across the Potomac, abandoning further contest with the Union forces, and yielding all hopes of further remaining on Maryland soil. The Confederate army is supposed to have lost nearly 30,000 men during its brief campaign in Maryland. The Federal forces captured 39 colors, 13 guns, more than 15,000 small-arms, and more than 6000 prisoners.—Extracts from D. Appleton’s “History of the Rebellion,” by Tenney, “Lippincott’s Gazetteer,” and Haydn’s “Dates.”

Antioch. A city in Syria, built by Seleucus 300 B.C.; after the battle of Ipsus it acquired the name “Queen of the East.” Here the disciples were first called Christians, A.D. 42. Antioch was taken by the Persians, 540; by the Saracens about 638; recovered from the Eastern emperor, 966; lost again in 1086; retaken by the Crusaders in 1098, and held by them till 1268, when it was captured by the sultan of Egypt. It was taken from the Turks in the Syrian war, Aug. 1, 1833, by Ibrahim Pasha, but restored at the peace.

Antium. A maritime city of Latium, now Porto d’Anzio, near Rome; after a long struggle for independence it became a Roman colony at the end of the great Latin war, 340-38 B.C. The treasures deposited in the Temple of Fortune here were taken by Octavius CÆsar during his war with Antony in 41 B.C.

Antonia. A fortress in Jerusalem on the north side of the area of the temple, originally built by the Maccabees under the name of Baris, and afterwards rebuilt with great strength and splendor by the first Herod. The fortress communicated with the northern and western porticoes of the temple area, so that the garrison could at any time enter the courts of the temple and prevent tumults. Josephus describes it as standing on a rock 50 cubits high, and having everything necessary within itself.

Antustriones. A body-guard of the kings or chiefs of the ancient Germans, which was composed of volunteers.

Antwerp (Fr. Anvers). The principal port of Belgium; is mentioned in history in 517; it was pillaged and burnt by the Spaniards and the inhabitants massacred, November 4, 1576. This event has been termed the “Spanish Fury.” After Marlborough’s victory at Ramillies, Antwerp surrendered at once, June 6, 1706; the Barrier treaty concluded here, November 16, 1715; taken by Marshal Saxe, May 9, 1746; occupied by the French, 1792-94 and 1814. The Belgian troops, having entered Antwerp, were opposed by the Dutch garrison, who, after a dreadful conflict, being driven into their citadel, cannonaded the town with hot shot and shells, October 27, 1830; the citadel was bombarded by the French, December 4; surrendered by Gen. Chasse, December 23, 1832. The exchange burnt, archives, etc., destroyed, August 2, 1858; fortification completed, 1865.

Anvil. An archaism for the handle or hilt of a sword. Also, a little narrow flag at the end of a lance.

Anvil. The resisting cone, plate, or bar against which the fulminate in a metallic cartridge is exploded. See Primer.

Aosta. A town in Piedmont, which was captured by the Romans in 24 B.C.

Aous, or Aeas (now the Voyussa). A river in Epirus, Greece, which flows into the Adriatic Sea; on the banks of this river Philip of Macedon was twice defeated by the Romans.

Apaches. A warlike tribe of savage Indians who infest New Mexico and Arizona. Until within a few years they were hostile, making frequent raids into the neighboring Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua, and robbing and murdering the settlers. They are now peaceable, and settled on reservations (with the exception of a few renegades); but being entirely uncivilized, their peaceful condition is uncertain. See Indians and their Agencies.

Aparejo. A kind of pack-saddle used in the American military service. See Pack-saddles.

Apex. The tip, point, or summit of anything. The Romans so named the crest of a helmet, or the part whereon the horse-hair plume was attached.

Aphracti. In the ancient military art, open vessels, without decks or hatches, furnished only at head and stern with cross-planks, whereon the men stood to fight.

Apobates. A name given by the ancients to warriors who fought mounted on chariots; they were also called Anabates, or Paraebates; they were generally leaders who fought in this manner; their armor and arms consisted of helmet, breast-armor, lance, javelin, sword, and shield. These warriors occasionally alighted from the chariots to attack their adversaries on foot.

Apology. In a military sense, when made and accepted, debars the officer who accepts from bringing forward the matter as a substantive accusation. See Appendix, Articles of War, 25.

Apomaque. This word, with the Grecians, signified those soldiers who were disqualified for military service from physical disability or other causes.

Appalachee Indians. A tribe of Indians once powerful in West Florida. In 1700 a part of them removed into what is now Alabama, and the tribe soon ceased to exist.

Apparatus. Ammunition and equipage for war.

Appareilles. Are those slopes that lead to the platform of the bastion.

Appastis, or Pactis. A war-tax, which was levied in ancient times upon the inhabitants of conquered countries.

Appeal. See Appendix, Articles of War, 29, 30.

Appel (Fr.). A smart stroke with the blade by a fencer on the sword of his antagonist on the opposite side to that which he engaged, generally accompanied with a stamp of the foot, and used for the purpose of procuring an opening.

Appian Way. A Roman road, made by Appius Claudius CÆcus, while censor, 312 B.C.

Appointe (Fr.). This word was applicable to French soldiers only, during the old monarchy of France, and meant a man who for his service and extraordinary bravery received more than common pay. There were likewise instances in which officers were distinguished by being styled officers appointes.

Appointing Power. It has been contended by advocates of executive discretion, that army appointments are embraced in the power granted to the President in the 2d section of the Constitution, to nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint “all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which may be established by law. But the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.” If due regard, however, be paid to the words “whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for,” the pretension set up in favor of executive power will receive no support from the terms of the Constitution. The powers granted to Congress to raise and support armies, and to make all rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces, are necessarily so comprehensive in character, as to embrace all means which Congress, according to circumstances, may deem proper and necessary in order to raise armies, or govern them when raised. Rules of appointment to office, rules of promotion,—another form of appointment,—and all rules whatever in relation to the land and naval forces, save the appointment of the commander-in-chief of those united forces, who is designated by the Constitution, are hence within the competency of Congress.

Appointment. Office, rank, or employment.

Appointment. The equipment, ordnance, furniture, and necessaries of an army.

Appointments, Military. The accoutrements of an officer.

Appointon (Fr.). A sort of poniard which was used in ancient times.

Apprehend. In a military sense, implies the seizing or confining of any person; as, to apprehend a deserter, etc.

Apprenti (Fr.). Apprentice. Formerly in the French service they had apprentices or soldiers among the artillery, who served for less pay than the regular artillerymen, until they became perfect in their profession, when they were admitted to such vacancies as occurred in their respective branches.

Approach. The route by which a fortified place or military position can be approached by an attacking force.

Approaches. The trenches or covered roads by which the besiegers convey ordnance, ammunition, and stores, and march troops to and from the parallels; also the trenches by means of which the successive parallels are established.

Appropriations. For the support of the U.S. army are made annually; the bill for the same must originate in the lower house of Congress. The English army is raised by the queen, and maintained by annual appropriations by Parliament; the system for the support of armies is much the same throughout Europe. In the United States, the term is also used by post and regimental councils of administration in the expenditure of funds.

Appui. See Point d’Appui.

Apri, or Apros. A small town in Thrace, on the river Melas, where the daring leader of the Catalonians, Berengar de Rocafort, defeated the Greeks under the Emperor Michael, 1307.

Apron. A piece of sheet-lead used to cover the vent of a cannon.

Apulia. A province in Southeast Italy, conquered by the Normans, whose leader, Guiscard, received the title of Duke of Apulia from Pope Nicholas II. in 1059. After many changes of masters, it was absorbed into the kingdom of Naples in 1265.

Aqueduct. A channel to convey water from one place to another. Aqueducts in military architecture are generally made to bring water from a spring or river to a fortress, etc.; they are likewise used to carry canals over low ground, and over brooks or small rivers; they are built with arches like a bridge, only not so wide, and are covered by an arch, to prevent dust or dirt from being thrown into the water,—there are also subterranean aqueducts, such as pipes of wood, lead, or iron.

Aquila (Southern Italy). Near here the Aragonese, under the condottiere Braccio Fortebraccio, were defeated by the allied Papal, Neapolitan, and Milanese army under Jacob Caldora, June 2, 1424. Braccio, a wounded prisoner, refused to take food, and died, June 5.

Aquila. The principal standard of a Roman legion. The standard of Romulus is said to have consisted of a handful of hay, straw, or fern, affixed to a pole or spear; whence the company of soldiers who served under it was called Manipulus. This primitive standard was soon superseded by the figures of animals. In 104 B.C. the eagle was permanently adopted; it was made of silver or bronze, and was represented with expanded wings.

Aquilifer. A name given by the Romans to the officers who carried the eagles of the legions.

Aquitaine. A province in the southwest of France; conquered by the Romans in 28 B.C.; by the Visigoths, 418; taken from them by Clovis in 507. Henry II. of England obtained it with his wife Eleanor, 1152. It was erected into a principality for Edward the Black Prince in 1362; but was annexed to France in 1370. The title of duke of Aquitaine was taken by the crown of England on the conquest of this duchy by Henry V. in 1418. The province was lost in the reign of Henry VI.

Arabia. A tract of land in Western Asia; the terms PetrÆa (stony), Felix (happy), and Deserta are said to have been applied to its divisions by Ptolemy, about 140. Arabia was unsuccessfully invaded by Gallus, the Roman governor of Egypt, 24 B.C. In 622, the Arabians under the name of Saracens (which see), followers of Mohammed, their general and prophet, commenced their course of conquest. The Arabs greatly favored literature and the sciences, especially mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry. To them we owe our ordinary (Arabic) numerals and arithmetical notation.

Aracillum. A city in Spain. The Cantabrians being besieged in this city by the Romans, killed each other rather than surrender.

Aradus (now Ruad). A city of Phoenicia; captured by the Roman general Ventidius, 38 B.C.

Aragon. Part of the Roman Tarraconensis, a kingdom, Northeast Spain, was conquered by the Carthaginians, who were expelled by the Romans about 200 B.C. It became an independent monarchy in 1035.

Aranjuez (Central Spain). Contains a fine royal palace, at which several important treaties were concluded. On March 17, 1808, an insurrection broke out here against Charles IV. and his favorite, Godoy, the Prince of Peace. The former was compelled to abdicate in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII., March 19.

Aransas. A small river of Texas, which empties into a bay of the same name, immediately north of Corpus Christi Bay. The Confederate works near this place were captured by the Federal troops November 20, 1864.

Arapahoe Indians. A tribe of Indians associated with the Cheyennes, who inhabit the country between the South Fork of the Platte River and the head-waters of the Arkansas. See Indians and their Agencies.

Arapiles. A village of Spain, 4 miles southeast of Salamanca. It was the scene of the sanguinary engagement called the battle of Salamanca, in which the allies under Wellington defeated the French under Marmont, July 22, 1812.

Arausio (now Orange, Southeast France). Through jealousy of the Roman proconsul Q. Servilius CÆpio, who would not wait for the arrival of the army of the consul C. Manlius, both were here defeated by the Cimbri with much slaughter, 105 B.C.

Arbalest. In the ancient art of war, a cross-bow made of steel, set in a shaft of wood, with a string and trigger, bent with a piece of iron fitted for that purpose, and used to throw bullets, large arrows, darts, etc.

Arbalestina. In the military system of the Middle Ages, was a small window or wicket through which the cross-bow men shot their quarrels or arrows at an enemy besieging a fortified place.

Arbaletrier d’une Galere (Fr.). That part of a galley where the cross-bow men were placed during an engagement.

Arbalist, or Arblast. A cross-bow man.

Arbela (now Erbil). A city in Asiatic Turkey; near here was fought the third and decisive battle between Alexander the Great and Darius Codomanus which decided the fate of Persia, October 1, 331 B.C., on a plain in Assyria, between Arbela and Gaugamela. The army of Darius consisted of 1,000,000 foot and 40,000 horse; the Macedonian army amounted to only 40,000 foot and 7000 horse. The gold and silver found in the cities of Susa, Persepolis, and Babylon, which fell to Alexander from this victory, amounted to £30,000,000 sterling; and the jewels and other precious spoil belonging to Darius sufficed to load 20,000 mules and 5000 camels.

Arbourg. A city in Switzerland, whose citadel, which was constructed in 1600, is an important depot for military stores.

Arbrier (Fr.). Stock of a cross-bow.

Arc (Fr.). A bow; an arch in building.

Arc À Jalet (Fr.). A small cross-bow, used to throw bullets, etc.

Arc, Elevating. In gunnery, is an arc attached to the base of the breech parallel to the ratchets and graduated into degrees and parts of a degree. A pointer attached to the fulcrum points to the zero of the scale when the axis of the piece is horizontal. Elevations and depressions are indicated by the scale. Besides the graduations on the arc, the ranges (in yards) and the charges for shot and shells are given.

Arch. In military architecture, is a vault or concave building, in form of a curve, erected to support some heavy structure, or passage.

Archers. In military history, a kind of militia or soldiery, armed with bows and arrows. They were much used in former times.

Archery. The use of the bow and arrow; the practice, art, or skill of archers; the art of shooting with a bow and arrow.

Arch-gaye, or Lance-gaye (Fr.). A lance used by the Gauls and Franks, which consisted of a sharp-pointed piece of iron attached to a light wooden handle.

Architonnerre (Fr.). A machine made of copper, which threw iron bullets with great force and noise; it was used in ancient times, being an invention of Archimedes.

Architrave. The master-beam, or chief supporter, in any part of subterraneous fortification.

Arch, Triumphal. In military history, is a stately monument or erection, generally of a semicircular form, adorned with sculpture, inscriptions, etc., in honor of those heroes who have deserved a triumph.

Arcis-sur-Aube. A small town in the French department of Aube; here a battle took place on March 20, 1814, between Napoleon and the allied forces under Prince Schwartzenberg. The battle, beginning with several skirmishes on the first day, and ending in a general engagement on the second day, when the French retreated over the Aube, was not in itself very important. But Napoleon now formed the plan of operating in the rear of the allies, and left the road to Paris open; assuming that they would not venture to proceed without attempting first to secure their rear. The allies marched, nevertheless, on the capital, and thus decided the campaign.

Arco. A metal composed of 70 parts of pure copper, 27 of zinc, and 3 of lead; used for the brass-work of small-arms.

Arcola (Lombardy). The site of battles between the French under Bonaparte, and the Austrians under Field-Marshal Alvinzi, fought November 15-17, 1796. The Austrians lost 18,000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 4 flags, and 18 guns. The French lost about 15,000, and became masters of Italy.

Arcot (East Indies). This city (founded 1716) was taken by Col. Clive August 31, 1751; was retaken, but again surrendered to Col. Coote, February 10, 1760; besieged and taken by Hyder Ali, when the British under Col. Baillie suffered severe defeat, October 31, 1780. Arcot has been subject to Great Britain since 1801.

Arcubalist. See Arbalest.

Ardalion. A river in Algeria. On the banks of this river in 398, Mascezil, a Roman general, defeated Gildo, a Moorish chieftain, then in rebellion against Rome.

Ardebil. A city in Persia; its citadel was constructed by French officers; captured by the Turks in 1827.

Ardres. A city in the department of Pas-de-Calais, France, it was dismantled in 1850. This city was captured by the Duke of Burgundy, brother of Charles V., from the English in 1377; a treaty was concluded here between Francis I. of France and Henry VIII. of England June 7, 1546; captured by the Spaniards in 1596; returned to France in 1598.

Area. In a military sense, is the superficial contents of any rampart or other work of a fortification.

Areoscope. An instrument used for analyzing the air of rooms; used in English medical corps.

Ares. The god of war in Greek mythology, corresponding to the Roman Mars (which see).

Argaum. A village in the Deccan, near to which Gen. Wellesley (afterwards Duke of Wellington) totally defeated the army of Dawlut Rao Scindia in October, 1803.

Argelinos, or Algerinos. The Spaniards so named the foreign legion, which was sent to them from Algiers by France, during the reign of Louis Philippe.

Argent. This word means silver in French, and is always used in heraldry to designate that metal. In engraving English shields the part designated as argent is left white.

Argentaria (now Colmar, Northern France). Where the Roman Emperor Gratian totally defeated the Alemanni and secured the peace of Gaul, 378.

Argentine Republic. Formerly the Confederation of La Plata, a South American federal republic, consisting of 14 provinces extending over an immense area of country. Buenos Ayres, one of its provinces, with the city of the same name, now the capital, seceded from the confederation in 1853, and was reunited in 1860. The country is remarkable chiefly for its internecine wars, revolutions, and struggles, incident to all the countries colonized by the Spanish race. See Buenos Ayres.

Argives. The inhabitants of Argos, a state of ancient Greece of which MycenÆ was the capital, and which was ruled by Agamemnon at the time of the Trojan war. The name is frequently used by Homer to signify the whole body of the Greeks.

Argos (now Panitza). An ancient city of Greece; near here, in 272 B.C., Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedon, defeated the army of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus; the latter was killed.

Argoulet (Fr.). An ancient dragoon. Also an inferior sort of a musket made at Liege for trading with the negroes.

Arich (anc. Rhinocolura). A fortress in Lower Egypt. The French occupied this place in 1793, but were obliged to surrender it in 1800.

Aries (Lat. “a ram”). An ancient battering-ram. See Battering-ram.

Arizona. A Territory of the United States, originally part of New Mexico, organized February, 1803. For many years known for its Indian hostilities, and conflicts between the Indians and U.S. troops; also for frequent terrible massacres of whites.

Arkansas. One of the Southwestern States of the Union. It was settled by the French in 1685, and formed a part of the great tract purchased from the French in 1803 under the name of Louisiana Territory. It was organized as a Territory in 1819, and admitted as a State in 1836. Arkansas passed an ordinance of secession March 4, 1861; was the scene of several engagements during the civil war, and suffered its share of the hardships of that eventful period. The battles of Pea Ridge and Fayetteville were fought in its territory; Arkansas Post was captured in 1863; and Helena and Little Rock were taken the same year.

Arkansas Indians. A tribe of Indians allied to the Dakotas, who formerly resided on the Ohio. At present they number about 200, and live in the Indian Territory.

Arkansas Post. A village in Arkansas, on the Arkansas River, about 40 miles from its mouth, garrisoned by the Confederates during the civil war. The combined forces of Admiral Porter and Gen. McClernand made an attack upon the place January 11, 1863, and carried it by storm.

Arklow. A town in Ireland, where a battle was fought between the insurgent Irish, amounting to 31,000, and a small regular force of British, which signally defeated them, June 10, 1798.

Arles. A city in the department Mouths-of-the-Rhone, France; said to have been founded 2000 B.C.; was formerly a powerful Roman city; sustained four memorable sieges against the Visigoths, in 425, 429, 452, and 457; besieged by Clovis I., king of the Franks, 508. The Count of Barcelona took possession of it in 1156, and Alfonso II., king of Aragon, in 1167.

Arlon. A town in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Here the French, commanded by Jourdan, defeated the Austrians in April, 1793, and again in April, 1794.

Arm. In a military sense, signifies a particular species of troops,—thus the artillery is an arm, and the cavalry, and infantry, etc., are each called an arm of the service. The word is also used to denote an instrument of warfare; a weapon of offense or defense.

Arm. To be provided with arms, weapons, or means of attack or resistance; to take arms.

Armament. A body of forces equipped for war;—used as a land force. All arrangements made for the defense of a fortification with musketry and artillery.

Armamentary. An armory; a magazine or arsenal.

Arm a Shot, To. Is to roll rope-yarns about a cross-bar shot in order to facilitate ramming it home, and also to prevent the ends catching any accidental inequalities in the bore.

Armatoles. A Grecian militia of Thessaly, instituted by Selim I. at the beginning of the 16th century, to oppose the raids of the mountaineers called klephtes, or brigands. Later the Armatoles and Klephtes united against the Turks.

Armatura. In ancient military history signified the fixed and established military exercises of the Romans. Under this word is understood the throwing of the spear, javelin, shooting with bows and arrows, etc. Armatura was also an appellation given to the soldiers who were light-armed; and was a name also given to the soldiers in the emperor’s retinue.

Armature. Armor; whatever is worn or used for the protection and defense of the body.

Arm-chest. A portable locker for holding arms, and affording a ready supply of pistols, muskets, or other weapons. Also used in the military service for the transportation of rifles, revolvers, etc.

Arme Courtoise (Fr.). This arm was used in tilts or tournaments during the Middle Ages; it was a kind of sword with a ring or knob placed at the tip of the blade to prevent it causing a dangerous wound.

Armed. Furnished with weapons of offense or defense; furnished with the means of security or protection; furnished with whatever serves to add strength, force, or efficiency. Armed neutrality, the condition of affairs when a nation assumes a threatening position, and maintains an armed force to repel any aggression on the part of belligerent nations between which it is neutral.

Armentiers. A city of the department of the North, France; captured and burned by the English, 1339; pillaged by the French, 1382; destroyed by the Calvinists in 1566; occupied by Marshals de Gassion and de Rantzan, 1645; by Archduke Leopold, 1647; by the French in 1667, and remained a city of France in accordance with the peace treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668.

Armes de Jet (Fr.). Missive weapons; offensive arms or instruments which act by propulsion, whether by the force of powder, steam, wind, or mechanism.

Armet (Fr.). A helmet or head-piece much in use in the 16th century, and worn with or without the beaver.

Armgaunt. Worn by military service; as, an armgaunt steed.

Armiger. Formerly an armor-bearer, as of a knight; an esquire who bore his shield and rendered other services. In later use, one next in degree to a knight, and entitled to a coat of arms.

Armilausa. A military uniform coat, worn by the Romans over their armor.

Armiludia. A name given by the Romans to the exercises of arms, and also applied to the day on which these exercises took place.

Armilustrium. This name was given by the Romans to a military festival which took place on the 19th of October annually. After review the soldiers offered up sacrifices for the success of the Roman arms.

Armipotent. Powerful in arms; mighty in battle.

Armisonous. Rustling in arms; resounding with arms.

Armistice. A cessation of hostilities between belligerent nations for a considerable time. It is either partial and local, or general. It differs from a mere suspension of arms, which takes place to enable the two armies to bury their dead, their chiefs to hold conferences or pourparlers, and the like. The terms truce (see Truce) and armistice are sometimes used in the same sense.

Armless. Without arms or armor.

Armlet. The name of a piece of armor for the arm, to protect it from the jar of the bow-string.

Armor. Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one’s person in battle. In English statutes, armor is used for the whole apparatus of war, including offensive as well as defensive arms. The statutes of armor directed what arms every man should provide. Armor has also been extensively used in England in plating important fortifications as those of Portsmouth, and also in Germany for the forts along the frontier.

Armor-bearer. One who carries the armor of another; an armiger; an esquire.

Armorer. The person who makes, cleans, or repairs arms.

Armorial. Belonging to armor, or to the arms or escutcheon of a family.

Armor Plates. From experiments of the effects of shot and shell on armor plates in England, the following results have been obtained: Where it is required to perforate the plate, the projectile should be of hard material, such as steel, or chilled iron, and the form best suited for this purpose is the pointed ogeeval. The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perforation by steel projectiles varies as the squares of their thickness. Hitting a plate at an angle diminishes the effect as regards the power of perforation in the proportion of the sine of the angle of incidence to unity. The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perforation by steel shot is practically not much, if at all, increased by backing simply of wood, within the usual limits of thickness; it is, however, much increased by a rigid backing either of iron combined with wood, or of granite, iron, brick, etc.

Till quite recently armor plates have been made of wrought iron only, as numerous experiments in England had served to show that notwithstanding the enormous resistance of steel to penetration it was unfit for armor plating,—the damage from the impact of shot not being localized as in wrought iron. The Italians were led, however, by the experiments with the 100-ton gun on targets of both metals at Spezzia, 1876, to adopt steel for their new ships, the “Duilio” and “Dandolo.” Since that time an armor compounded of steel and wrought iron has been introduced in England which bids fair to supersede all others. It is made by casting a heavy facing of steel upon wrought-iron plates. A section of this compound armor exhibits a gradual change of structure from the hard steel face to the soft iron backing. Its resistance to penetration is equal to steel, while in toughness and endurance under the blows of shot it resembles wrought iron.

To glance at some of the heaviest armor plating afloat, the English “Inflexible” carries a maximum thickness of 24 inches of iron, the Italian frigates mentioned above 21.5 of steel, the French “Admiral DuperrÉ” 21.6 of iron, the Russian “Peter the Great” 14 inches of iron. In regard to the power of some of the most noted of modern guns, the 12-inch calibres used now by all leading nations will penetrate, at 1000 yards, 16 to 18 inches of iron. The 38-ton English gun of this calibre has penetrated (at shorter range) 22 inches of iron and 6 inches of teak backing. The 80-ton Woolwich gun will penetrate 23 inches of iron at 1000 yards. The largest Krupp, 72 tons, will penetrate 26 inches, and the 100-ton Armstrong 30 inches at the same distance. None of the guns mentioned would penetrate at a single shot the steel armor of the Italian ships, but any of them would destroy it in a number of rounds.

Armory. A manufactory, or place of deposit for arms. See Arsenal.

Armory, National. The U.S. government establishment for the manufacture of small-arms at Springfield, Mass.

Arm-rack. A frame or fitting for the stowage of arms (usually vertical) out of harm’s way, but in readiness for immediate use. In the conveyance of troops by sea arm-racks form a part of the proper accommodation. Arm-racks are also used in soldiers’ barrack-rooms.

Arms. In a general sense, comprehend weapons both of an offensive and defensive character, but in the usual restricted sense they only embrace the former, and in modern warfare include the gun and bayonet, the rifle, the pistol, the carbine, the sword, the lance, cannon, etc., all of which are noticed under their respective heads. For punishment inflicted upon soldiers who sell or otherwise dispose of their arms, see Appendix, Articles of War, 17.

Arms. This term is used in heraldry to designate the devices borne on shields, and includes all the accompaniments, such as the crest, helmet, supporters, etc.

Arms, Bells of. Are tents, used in the English service, mostly of a conical shape, for containing the small-arms for each company in a regiment of infantry. The tent is frequently painted with the color of the facings of the regimental uniforms.

Arms, Stand of. A complete set for one soldier, as a rifle and bayonet, cartridge-box and belt, frequently the rifle and bayonet alone.

Armstrong Gun. The Armstrong gun as a breech-loading field-piece first attracted attention in England about 1850. About 1858 it was adopted by the British government. This gun was made of wrought iron, and consisted of a single coiled tube reinforced at the breech with two thin tubes, the outer one being a coiled tube, the inner being formed by bending a plate and welding the edges. The coiled tubes were formed by bending square bars of iron around a mandrel and welding the coils together. Tubes made in this way offer great resistance to tangential strains. The intermediate tube was designed to take up the longitudinal strain near the breech, and for this reason was made differently. The breech was closed with a vent-piece, slipped by the band into a slot cut in the piece near the breech, and held in its place by a breech-screw, which supported it from behind. This screw was made in the form of a tube, so that its hollow formed a part of the bore prolonged, when the vent-piece was drawn. Through the hollow screw the charge was passed into the chamber. The vent was formed in the breech-piece. This gun was a 3-inch 12-pounder, firing a lead-coated projectile. It was followed by the 40-pounder, 110-pounder, and other calibres. Muzzle-loaders were also made. The breech-loading apparatus did not prove entirely successful in large guns, and was accordingly discarded except for small calibres. The method of construction was changed for larger guns, and a plan adopted which has been adhered to ever since, and is that now used. The barrel or part surrounding the bore is made of steel tempered in oil; that portion at and in rear of the trunnions is enveloped by several layers of wrought-iron tubes, the number of layers depending upon the size of the gun. These tubes, instead of being joined at their ends by welding, are hooked on to each other by a system of shoulders and recesses. There are also projections fitting into corresponding recesses, which serve to prevent the tubes from slipping within each other. The tube which immediately surrounds the barrel opposite to the seat of the charge is called the breech-piece. It is made with its fibres and welds running longitudinally, so as to resist the recoil of the barrel against the head of the breech-plug, which is screwed into the breech-piece. The shunt system of rifling was first applied to muzzle-loading Armstrong guns, which have fewer grooves than the breech-loaders. The method of manufacturing originally proposed by Sir William Armstrong has been greatly modified by Mr. Fraser, of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. (See Ordnance, Armstrong Cannon). For some years large numbers of Armstrong guns were made at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, under the supervision of the inventor. His works are now located at Elswick, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and are known us the Elswick Ordnance Works. To distinguish the system of gun-construction from the “Woolwich,” which it closely resembles, it is frequently called the “Elswick” system. The largest, as well as the most powerful guns ever made, are the 100-ton guns manufactured at Elswick for the Italian navy. See Cannon and Ordnance, Modern History of.

Armstrong Projectile. See Projectile.

Army. A large and organized body of soldiers, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, completely armed, and provided with the necessary stores, etc., the whole being composed of companies, battalions, regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps, under proper officers, and the entire force being under the direction of one general, who is called the general-in-chief, and sometimes the generalissimo. Armies are distinguished by different appellations; as, a covering army, a blockading army, an army of obstruction, an army of reserve, a flying army, etc. An army is said to cover a place when it is encamped or in cantonments for the protection of the different passes which lead to a principal object of defense. An army is said to blockade a place when, being well provided with heavy ordnance and other warlike means, it is employed to invest a town for the direct and immediate purpose of reducing it by assault or famine. An army of obstruction is so called because by its advanced positions and desultory movements it is constantly employed in watching the enemy. A flying army means a strong body of horse and foot, which is always in motion, both to cover its own garrisons and keep the enemy in continual alarm. For method of providing for armies, see Appropriations.

Army Corps. See Corps d’ArmÉe.

Army Regulations. This is the name of a work published by the War Department embodying all the acts of Congress, and the rules laid down by the President for the management of the army, both in peace and war. See Regulations.

Arnaouts, or Arnouts, Corps des. Militia of Greece organized during the war of Russia against the Porte in 1769.

Arnheim. A fortified city in Holland; it was captured by the French in 1672; taken by storm by the Prussians under Gen. Von Bulow in 1815.

Arnott’s Pump. An ingeniously arranged machine for forcing pure air into buildings.

Arquebusade. Shot of an arquebuse. Also distilled water from a variety of aromatic plants, as rosemary, millefoil, etc., applied to a bruise or wound; so called because it was originally used as a vulnerary in gunshot wounds.

Arquebuse, or Harquebuse. An old fire-arm resembling a musket, which was supported on a rest by a hook of iron fastened to the barrel. It was longer than a musket, and of large calibre, and formerly used to fire through the loop-holes of antique fortifications.

Arquebusier. A soldier armed with an arquebuse.

Arques (Northern France). Near here the league army, commanded by the Duc de Mayenne, was defeated by Henry IV., September 21, 1589.

Arracan. A province of Northeast India. Arracan, the capital, taken by the Burmese, 1783; was taken from them by Gen. Morrison, April 1, 1825. The subjugation of the whole province soon followed.

Arrah. A town in British India, in the presidency of Bengal, the scene of several exciting incidents in the Indian mutiny. The English troops gained a victory here over the mutinous Sepoys in 1857.

Arras (Northeast France). The ancient Atrebates; conquered by CÆsar in 50 B.C.; captured and sacked by the Vandals in 407; captured by the Normans in 880; besieged by Charles VI. in 1414; captured by Louis XI.; held by the Austrians from 1493 till 1640, when it was taken by Louis XIII.; besieged by the Spaniards in 1654.

Arrawak Indians. A race or collection of tribes of Indians in Guiana, who were formerly numerous and powerful.

Array. Order; disposition in regular lines; hence, a posture for fighting; as, drawn up in battle array.

Arrayer. In some early English statutes, an officer who had care of the soldiers’ armor, and who saw them duly accoutred.

Arrest. The temporary confinement of officers in barracks, quarters, or tents, pending trial by court-martial, or the consideration of their imputed offenses previous to deciding whether they shall or shall not be tried. (See Appendix, Articles of War, 65.) Private soldiers are usually placed under guard; by the custom of the service non-commissioned officers may be simply placed in arrest in quarters.

Arrest (Old Fr., now arret). A French phrase, similar in its import to the Latin word retinaculum; it consisted of a small piece of steel or iron, which was formerly used in the construction of fire-arms, to prevent the piece from going off. A familiar phrase among military men in France is, Ce pistolet est en arret, “this pistol is in arrest or is stopped.”

Arreste of the Glacis. Is the junction of the talus which is formed at all the angles.

Arretium. A city of the Gauls, now in the department of the Yonne, France, where the Gauls defeated the Romans in a bloody battle in 284 B.C.

Arrow. In fortification, a work placed at the salient angles of the glacis, communicating with the covert way.

Arrow. A missile weapon of defense, straight, slender, pointed, and barbed, to be shot with a bow.

Arrow-head. The head of an arrow.

Arrow-wood. A species of Viburnum, from the long straight stems of which the Indians dwelling between the Mississippi and the Pacific make their arrows.

Arrowy. Consisting of arrows.

Arroyo del Molinos. A small town in Estremadura, Spain, near the river Guadiana, where Lord Hill, on the 28th of October, 1811, surprised and defeated the French under Gen. Gerard. Nearly 1500 prisoners were taken, including Prince d’Aremburg, Gen. Brun, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, a commissaire de guerre, and no less than 30 captains and inferior officers. It was altogether a most brilliant achievement.

Arsenal. A public establishment for the storage or for the manufacture and storage of arms and all military equipments, whether for land or naval service. In the United States there are 17 arsenals and 1 armory (Springfield, Mass.), situated at different points throughout the whole country convenient for the distribution of materiel, as follows: Alleghany arsenal, at Pittsburg, Pa.; at Augusta, Ga.; Benicia, Cal.; Fort Monroe, Va.; Fort Union, N. M.; Frankford arsenal, Philadelphia, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kennebec arsenal, Augusta, Me.; New York; Pikesville, Md.; Rock Island, Ill.; Jefferson Barracks, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; Vancouver, W. T.; Washington, D. C.; Watertown, Mass.; and Watervliet arsenal, West Troy, N. Y.

Arsouf (Syria). At a battle here Richard I. of England, commanding the Christian forces, reduced to 30,000, defeated Saladin’s army of 300,000 and other infidels on September 6, 1191. Ascalon surrendered, and Richard marched to Jerusalem, 1192.

Art, Military. Military art may be divided into two principal branches. The first branch relates to the order and arrangement which must be observed in the management of an army, when it is to engage an enemy, to march, or to be encamped. This branch is called tactics. The same appellation belongs to the other branch of military art, which also includes the composition and application of warlike machines. See Logistics, Strategy, Stratagem, Tactics, and War.

Arta, or Narda. A town in Albania. The Greek insurgents against the Porte were defeated here, July 16, 1822.

Artaxata. The ancient capital of Armenia; burned by the Roman general Carbulo, about 59.

Artemisium. A promontory in Euboea, near which indecisive conflicts took place between the Greek and Persian fleets for three days, 480 B.C. The former retired on hearing of the battle of ThermopylÆ.

Articles of War. Are known rules and regulations, fixed by law, for the better government of an army. The articles of war of the United States consists of 128 articles. (See Appendix, Articles of War.) All that relates to the army not comprehended therein is published in general orders or in established regulations, issued from time to time from the War Department, copies of which are furnished and read to the troops. In England they may be altered and enlarged at the pleasure of the sovereign, but must be annually confirmed by Parliament under the Mutiny Act.

Artifice. Among the French, is understood as comprehending everything which enters the composition of fire-works, as the sulphur, saltpetre, charcoal, etc. See Pyrotechnics.

Artificer. One who makes fire works, or works in the artillery laboratory, and prepares the shells, fuzes, grenades, etc. It is also applied to military mechanics, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, etc.

Artificial Line of Sight. Is the right line from the eye to the object to be hit, passing through the front and rear sights. See Pointing.

Artillery. In a general sense, signifies all sorts of great guns or cannon, mortars, howitzers, petards, and the like, together with all the apparatus and stores thereto belonging, which are not only taken into the field, but likewise to sieges, and made use of both to attack and defend fortified places; also the officers and men of that branch of the army to which the care and management of such machines have been confided. (See Ordnance.) Artillery, in a particular sense, signifies the science of artillery or gunnery, which art includes a knowledge of surveying, leveling, geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, laws of motion, mechanics, fortifications, and projectiles. See Battery, Field Battery, Field Artillery, Siege Artillery.

Artillery Company, Honorable. A band of infantry, rifles, and artillery, forming part of the militia, or city guards of London, England. It was instituted in 1585; having ceased, was revived in 1610. In the civil war, 1641-48, the company took the side of the Parliament, and greatly contributed towards its success. The company numbered 1200 in 1803, and 800 in 1861. Since 1842 the officers have been appointed by the queen. On the decease of the Duke of Sussex, in 1843, the prince consort became colonel and captain-general. He died December 14, 1861, and the Prince of Wales was appointed his successor, August 24, 1863.

Artilleryman. A man who manages, or assists in managing, large guns in firing.

Artillery-park. The camp of one or more field batteries; the inclosure where, during a siege, the general camp of foot artillery, and depots of guns, materiel, etc., are collected.

Artillery, Royal Regiment of. Is the collective name for the whole of the artillery belonging to the British army. There was no regular regiment or corps of artillery soldiers in the British army till the time of Queen Anne, when the present royal regiment was formed. Since that period, from some anomaly which is not easily explained, all the additions have been made to the same regiment, instead of forming new regiments, to be combined into a division or corps. The regiment is now almost an entire army in itself, and to increase the anomaly, it comprises horse as well as foot. Formerly the foot was divided into battalions and companies, and the horse into troops, but these terms have been abolished, in favor of brigade and battery, which apply both to horse and foot artillery. The regiment now consists of 33,500 men, thus distributed:

Of the above, the field, garrison, and mixed are foot artillery. This force represents from 1200 to 1300 guns fully equipped for action. Of the foot artillery, the garrison batteries are readily converted to field batteries by the addition of a few drivers.

Artillery Schools. Are special schools for instruction and training in artillery, which are organized through all civilized countries. In the United States, an artillery school was established at Fort Monroe, Va., 1867. Its object is to train both officers and enlisted men in the construction and service of all kinds of artillery and artillery material, and in gunnery and mathematics as applied in the artillery service. For artillery schools in other countries, see Military Academies.

Artillery, Systems of. See Systems of Artillery.

Artillery-train. A number of pieces of ordnance mounted on carriages, with all their furniture, fit for marching.

Arx. In the ancient military art, a fort, castle, etc., for the defense of a place.

Arzegages (Fr.). Batons or canes with iron at both ends. They were carried by the Estradiots, or Albanian cavaliers, who served in France under Charles VIII. and Louis XII.

Asapes. An inferior class of Turkish soldiers employed in sieges to work in intrenchments and perform other pioneer duty.

Asaraouas. A tribe in Algeria against whom the French undertook an expedition in 1837.

Ascalon (Syria). A city of the Philistines which shared the fate of Phoenicia and Judea. The Egyptian army was defeated here by the Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon, August 12, 1099; it was besieged by the latter in 1148, taken in 1153, and again in 1191. Its fortifications were destroyed through fear of the Crusaders, by the sultan, in 1270.

Aschaffenburg. On the Maine, Bavaria, Southwestern Germany; here, on July 14, 1866, the Prussians defeated the German Federal army, captured the town, and took 2000 prisoners.

Asculum (now Ascoli, Apulia, Southern Italy). Near it Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans 279 B.C. Asculum, a city of the Piceni, with all their country, was conquered by the Consul Sempronius 268 B.C. Andrea, general of the Emperor Henry VI., endeavoring to wrest Naples from Tancred, was defeated and slain in 1190.

Ashantees. Warlike negroes of West Africa. In 1807 they conquered Fantee, in which the British settlement of Cape Coast Castle is situated. On the death of their king, who had been friendly to the English, hostilities began; and on January 21, 1824, the Ashantees defeated about 1000 British under Sir Charles McCarthy at Accra, and brought away his skull with others as trophies. They were totally defeated August 27, 1826, by Col. Purdon. The governor of Cape Coast Castle began a war with them in the spring of 1863; but the British troops suffered much through disease, and the war was suspended by the government in May, 1864.

Ashburton Treaty. Concluded at Washington, August 9, 1842, by Alexander, Lord Ashburton, and John Tyler, President of the United States; it defined the boundaries of the respective countries between Canada and Maine, settled the extradition of criminals, etc.

Ashdod, or Azotus. An ancient city of Judea, identified with the site of the modern Asdood, about 12 miles northeast of Ascalon. It is celebrated by Herodotus as having stood a siege of 29 years from Psammatichus, king of Egypt (about 630 B.C.). It was taken by the Assyrians under Tartan, the general of Sennacherib (713 B.C.); taken and destroyed by Judas MaccabÆus and his brother Jonathan; restored by Gabinius, and given by Augustus to Salome.

Ashdown, or Assendune. Now thought to be Ashton, Berks, England, where Ethelred and his brother Alfred defeated the Danes in 1171.

Asia Minor. See Anatolia.

Askeri Mohammedize. A name given to the Turkish regular troops organized according to modern tactics.

Aslant. Formed or placed in an oblique line.

Asow. An old fortified city in Southern Russia. Towards the end of the 14th century it fell into the hands of Timur; the Turks took possession of it in 1471; captured by the Cossacks in 1637; besieged without success by the Turks in 1641, they returned the following year with a large army to attack the city, when the Cossacks, thinking it impossible to hold the city against such a force, plundered and burned it; the Turks then rebuilt the city and fortified it; it was surrendered to Peter the Great in 1696; the city again came into the Turkish possession after the peace treaty on the Pruth. In the war between Turkey and Russia, Asow was besieged by Field-Marshal Munich; it surrendered to Gen. Lascy, July 4, 1736.

Aspe. A village in the department of the Lower Pyrenees, France, where a small detachment of the French army defeated 6000 Spaniards in 1792.

Aspect. An army is said to hold a menacing aspect, when by advanced movements or positions it gives the opposing enemy cause to apprehend an attack. A country is said to have a military aspect, when its general situation presents appropriate obstacles or facilities for an army acting on the offensive or defensive. An army is said to have an imposing aspect, when it appears stronger than it really is. This appearance is often assumed for the purpose of deceiving an enemy, and may not improperly be considered as a principal ruse de guerre, or feint in war.

Aspern, Great. A town near the Danube and Vienna, where a series of desperate conflicts took place between the Austrian army under the Archduke Charles, and the French under Napoleon, Massena, etc., on May 21-22, 1809, ending in the retreat of Napoleon on May 22. The loss of the former exceeded 20,000 men, and of the latter 30,000. The daring Marshal Lannes was mortally wounded on May 22, and died May 31. The bridge of the Danube was destroyed and Napoleon’s retreat endangered; but the success of the Austrians had no beneficial effect on the subsequent prosecution of the war.

Aspic (Fr.). An ancient piece of ordnance which carried a 12-pound shot; the piece itself was 11 feet long, and weighed 4250 pounds.

Aspis. A large, round, or oblong shield which was used by the heavy infantry of the ancient Grecians.

Aspromonte (Naples). Here Garibaldi was defeated, wounded, and taken prisoner, August 29, 1862, having injudiciously risen against the French occupation of Rome.

Assagai, or Assegai. An instrument of warfare among the Kaffirs.

Assail. To attack with violence, or in a hostile manner; to assault, etc. See Attack.

Assailable. Capable of being assailed, attacked, or invaded.

Assas-Bachi. A superior officer of janissaries, who was also administrator of the police department in Constantinople, and presided over public executions.

Assassins, or Assassinians. Fanatical Mohammedans, collected by Hassan-ben-Sabah, and settled in Persia about 1090. In Syria they possessed a large tract of land among the mountains of Lebanon. They murdered the Marquis of Montferrat in 1192, Louis of Bavaria in 1213, and the Khan of Tartary in 1254. They were extirpated in Persia about 1258, and in Syria about 1272. The chief of the corps was named “Old Man of the Mountain.” They trained up young people to assassinate such persons as their chief had devoted to destruction. From them the word assassin has been derived.

Assault. A furious but regulated effort to carry a fortified post, camp, or fortress by personal attack, uncovered and unsupported. While an assault during a siege continues, the batteries of the besiegers cease, lest the attacking party should be injured. The party which leads the assault is sometimes called “the forlorn hope.”

Assaye. A small town in the province of Bahar, in the Deccan, celebrated for a battle fought in 1803, between the British army, 4500 strong, under the Duke of Wellington, then Gen. Wellesley, and the confederated armies of India, numbering 50,000 troops; the latter were completely routed, leaving 1200 dead on the field, with nearly the whole of their artillery. Such was the battle of Assaye, which established the fame of the greatest commander of the age, and fixed the dominion of Britain over prostrate India.

Asseerghur. A strong hill fortress, situated about 12 miles northerly and easterly from Burhampoor, India. It was taken from the Mahrattas by the British on two occasions; the first time in 1803, and finally in 1819.

Asseguay. The knife-dagger used in the Levant.

Assembly. A beat of the drum or sound of the bugle as a signal to troops to assemble.

Assens. A maritime town of Denmark on the island of Funen; here Christian III. defeated his insurgent subjects in 1535.

Asser. An instrument of warfare used by the Romans on their war ships; it consisted of a heavy pole with an iron head, and was used as a battering-ram against hostile ships. Other authorities assert that it was used to destroy the rigging only.

Assessment of Damages. In the English army, is the determination by a committee of officers of the value of the injury done to the barracks each month, in order that stoppages in liquidation may be made from men who have committed the damage.

Assidui Milites. Roman soldiers who served in the army without receiving pay.

Assignment. If, upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps of the army shall happen to join or do duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of the army, marine corps, or militia, by commission, there on duty or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the President of the United States, according to the nature of the case. See Appendix, Articles of War, 122.

Assignment of Pay. By a non-commissioned officer or private, previous to discharge, is invalid. A transfer subsequent to the discharge is valid.

Assinaries, or Assinaires. Festivals which were instituted at Syracuse, in commemoration of the destruction of the Athenian fleet commanded by Nicias and Demosthenes.

Assinarus (now Falunara). A small river in Sicily, near which the army of Nicias and Demosthenes was defeated 413 B.C.

Assistant. In the English army, is the third grade in any particular branch of the staff, such as the quartermaster-general’s or adjutant-general’s. After the principal comes the deputy and then the assistant. In the United States it is the second grade in the staff branches of the army.

Assyria. A name which is usually appropriated to the first of what are known as the four great empires of the world, but which in geography nearly corresponds with the modern Koordistan. Its capital was Nineveh, of which the ancient ruins may still be traced. In 625 B.C., Nineveh was destroyed by Cyaxares the Mede, and Assyria became a province of Media.

Astapa (now Estepa). A city in the province of Seville, Spain; it was besieged by the Romans under Marius; the besieged slew their women and children and allowed themselves to be cut down to a man before they would surrender to the Romans.

Asta-Regia. A city of Spain (now in ruins); near here the prÆtor Caius Atinius gained a victory over the ancient Lusitanians, in 186 B.C.

Asti, or Asta. A city in Piedmont, Italy. Chevert took its fortress in 1745.

Astorga (anc. Asturica Augusta). A city in Spain, which was taken by the French in 1810.

Astragal and Fillets. Are the mouldings at the front end of the chase, used in the ornamental work of ordnance.

Astrakhan (Southeast Russia). Capital of a province of the same name; it was captured by the Russians in 1554; besieged by the Turks in 1569, who were defeated with great slaughter; seized by the rebel Stenko Razin in 1670, who was soon dispossessed of it by his uncle Jacolof. The province was visited and settled by Peter the Great in 1722.

Astrolabe. An instrument for observing the position of the stars, now disused. A graduated ring with sights for taking altitudes at sea was also formerly so called.

Asturias. An ancient principality in Northwest Spain. Here Pelayo collected the Gothic fugitives, about 713, founded a new kingdom, and by his victories checked Moorish conquests. In 1808 the junta of Asturias began the organized resistance to the French usurpation.

Asylum, Royal Military. A benevolent institution erected at Chelsea, Middlesex, England, for the reception and education of the children of soldiers of the regular army. The first stone was laid by the Duke of York, June 19, 1801. The direction and control of the institution are placed in the hands of commissioners appointed by her majesty, the principals of which are the commander-in-chief, the secretary of war, the master-general of the ordnance, and other high officials connected with the government. In the selection of children for admission preference, in general, is given:—First, to orphans; second, to those whose fathers have been killed, or have died on foreign service; third, to those who have lost their mothers, and whose fathers are absent on duty abroad; fourth, to those whose fathers are ordered on foreign service, or whose parents have other children to maintain. There is also a branch establishment at Southampton, for the maintenance and education of girls.

Asylum, Military. See Soldiers’ Homes.

As You Were. A word of command corresponding to the French remettez vous, frequently used by drill instructors to cause a resumption of the previous position, when any motion of the musket or movement of the body has been improperly made.

Atabal. A kettle-drum; a kind of tabor, used by the Moors.

Ataghan. See Yataghan.

Ataman. A hetman, or chief of the Cossacks.

Atchevement. In heraldry, is a term nearly equivalent to arms, or armorial bearings, and is often used in its abbreviated form of hatchment when speaking of the arms of a deceased person as displayed at his funeral or elsewhere.

Ategar. The old English hand-dart, named from the Saxon aeton, “to fling,” and gar, “a weapon.”

Ategna. An important city of ancient Italy. It was taken from the Republicans by Julius CÆsar, in 45 B.C.

Atella (now San Arpino). A place in Italy, where the French under the Duke of Montpensier, general of Charles VIII., had to capitulate and surrender to Ferdinand II. of Naples, in 1496. The prisoners were transported to the island of Procida, where the majority of them, including the Duke of Montpensier, perished by contracting an infectious disease.

Ath. A fortified town in Belgium; it was ceded to France in 1668; fortified by Vauban; restored to the Spaniards in 1678; captured by the French under Marshal Catinat in 1697, but was restored in the same year by the peace of Ryswick. The allies under Field-Marshal d’Auvergne took it October 1, 1706. It remained in the possession of the Dutch till 1716, when it was given up to the emperor of Austria, with the remainder of the Spanish Netherlands. Louis XV. of France captured it in 1745. France lost it by the treaties of 1814-15.

Athanati. A corps of picked soldiers belonging to the ancient Persian army, 10,000 strong, which were called the “Immortals,” for the reason that, as soon as one of the corps died, another was put in his place.

Athenry. A town in Galway, Ireland; near here the Irish were totally defeated, and a gallant young chief, Feidlim O’Connor, slain in 1316.

Athens. A celebrated city, the capital of the modern kingdom of Greece, situated in the plain of Attica, about 4 miles northeast of the Gulf of Ægina. It was for several ages the centre of European civilization. The city is said to have been founded by Cecrops, and afterwards enlarged by Theseus, who made it the capital of the new state which he formed by uniting into one political body the 12 independent states into which Attica had previously been divided. A new era in the history of the city commences with its capture by Xerxes, who reduced it almost to a heap of ashes, 480 B.C. This event was followed by the rapid development of the maritime power of the city and the establishment of her empire over the islands of the Ægean Sea. Her increasing wealth afforded her ample means for the embellishment of the city, and during the half century which elapsed between the battle of Salamis and the commencement of the Peloponnesian war, the Athenians erected those masterpieces of architecture which have been the wonder of succeeding ages. The city was captured by the LacedÆmonians in 404 B.C., and was conquered by Sulla, the Roman general, 86 B.C., after which it dwindled into insignificance as a maritime city. Its prosperity continued, however, under the Roman sway, and it continued to be famous as the centre of philosophy, literature, and art, many famous buildings having been erected there by foreign rulers after the decline of its power. During the Middle Ages it sunk into insignificance. It has successively belonged to the Goths, Byzantines, Bergundians, Franks, Catalans, Florentines, Venetians, and Turks. In 1687 the buildings of the Acropolis suffered severe injury in the siege of Athens by the Venetians under Morosini. In 1834 Athens was declared the capital of the kingdom of Greece.

Athlone. A town in Roscommon, Ireland, which was burnt during the civil war in 1641. After the battle of the Boyne, Col. R. Grace held Athlone for James II. against a besieging army, but fell when it was taken by assault by Ginkel, June 30, 1691. See Aughrim.

Atilt. In the manner of a tilter; in the position or with the action of a man making a thrust. “To run a tilt at men.”

Atlanta. A city of Fulton Co., Ga., and the capital of the State. In its vicinity a battle was fought between the Federal forces under Gen. Sherman and the Confederates under Gen. Hood, July 22, 1864. The city was taken by Gen. Sherman on September 2, and held by him until November 15, when he set out on his famous “march to the sea.”

Atmidometer, or Admometer. An instrument for measuring the rate of evaporation, used in English medical corps.

Atrebates. A Belgic people subdued by CÆsar, 57 B.C.

Attach. To place, to appoint. Officers and non-commissioned officers are said to be attached to the respective army, regiment, battalion, troop, or company with which they are appointed to act.

Attache (Fr.). The seal and signature of the colonel-general in the old French service, which were affixed to commissions of officers after they had been duly examined.

Attack. Any general assault or onset that is given to gain a post or break a body of troops. False attack, a feigned or secondary movement in the arrangements of an assault, intended to divert the attention of an enemy from the real or principal attack. Such a movement has been sometimes converted into a real attack, and succeeded when the main assault, to which it was intended to be subsidiary, had failed. Attack of a siege is a furious attack made by the besiegers by means of trenches, galleries, saps, breaches, or mines, etc., by storming any part of the front attack. To attack in front or flank, in fortifications, means to attack the salient angle, or both sides of the bastion.

Attack and Defense. A part of the sword exercise drill.

Attacking. The act of making a general assault or onset for the capture of a post, fort, etc., or the breaking of a body of troops. Previous to an assault on a fortified position, the artillery ought to support the other troops by a combined fire of guns, howitzers, and small mortars, so that, if possible, the fire may be simultaneous, as such diversity of projectiles would tend to distract the defenders, and prevent them from extinguishing any fires among buildings, besides throwing them into confusion at the moment of assault. In cases of surprise, when immediate action is required, this method cannot, of course, be practicable.

Attention. A cautionary command addressed to troops preparatory to a particular exercise or manoeuvre. Gare-a-vous has the same signification in the French service.

Attestation. In the English service, is a certificate which is granted by a justice of the peace within four days after the enlistment of a recruit. This certificate bears testimony that the recruit has been brought before the justice in conformity to the Mutiny Act, and has declared his assent or dissent to such enlistment, and that (if according to the said act he shall have been duly enlisted) the proper oaths have been administered to him by the magistrate, and the sections of the articles of war against mutiny and desertion read to the said recruit.

Audenarde. See Oudenarde.

Auditor, Second. An official connected with the Treasury Department, whose duties consist in examining all accounts relating to the pay and clothing of the army, the subsistence of officers, bounties, premiums, military and hospital stores, and the contingent expenses of the War Department, etc., and transmitting them with vouchers, etc., to the Second Comptroller for his decision.

Auditor, Third. To him is assigned the duty of examining all accounts relative to the subsistence of the army, the quartermaster’s department, and generally all accounts of the War Department other than those provided for; also all accounts relating to pensions, claims for compensation for loss of horses and equipments of officers and enlisted men in the military service of the United States, etc.

Auditor, Fourth. Examines all accounts accruing in the Navy Department, or relative thereto, and all accounts relating to navy pensions.

Auerstadt (Prussia). Here and at Jena, on October 4, 1806, the French signally defeated the Prussians. See Jena.

Auget. A kind of small trough used in mining, in which the saucisson or train-hose is laid in straw, to prevent the powder from contracting any dampness.

Aughrim. Near Athlone, in Ireland, where, on July 12, 1691, a battle was fought between the Irish, headed by the French general St. Ruth, and the English, under Gen. Ginkel. The former were defeated and lost 7000 men; the latter lost only 600 killed and 960 wounded. St. Ruth was slain. This engagement proved decisively fatal to the interests of James II., and Ginkel was created earl of Athlone.

Augusta. A city and capital of Richmond Co., Ga., on the Savannah River. It was an important place at the time of the Revolution, and was captured by the English and Tories in 1779, but surrendered to Col. Henry Lee, of the Revolutionary army, June 5, 1781.

Augusta, or Agosta. A well-built and fortified city in the intendancy of Catania, in Sicily; near here, on April 21, 1676, a naval battle was fought between the French under Duquesne, and the Dutch and Spanish fleet under Ruyter, the advantage remaining with the French. Ruyter was wounded at this battle, and died a few days after at Syracuse.

Augusticum. A bounty that was given by the Roman emperors to their soldiers upon the latter taking the oath of allegiance for the first time, or upon a renewal of the oath.

Aulic Council. A term applied to a council of the War Department of the Austrian empire, and the members of different provincial chanceries of that empire are called aulic councillors.

Aumacor. A title similar to general-in-chief, which was given to the chief of the Saracens during the Crusades.

Ausen. A name given by the Goths to their victorious generals. This word in their language signifies “more than mortal,” i.e., demi-gods.

Aussig. A village in Prussia, where, in 1426, the army of the margrave Frederick von Meissen was defeated by the Hussites and Poles under Jakubko von Wrezezowecez and Prince Sigismund Koribut. The city was plundered and burned the same night by the Hussites.

Austerlitz (Moravia). Here a battle was fought between the French and the allied Austrian and Russian armies, December 2, 1805. Three emperors commanded: Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria, and Napoleon of France. The killed and wounded exceeded 30,000 on the side of the allies, who lost 40 standards, 150 pieces of cannon, and thousands of prisoners; the French loss amounted to about 12,000 men. The decisive victory of the French led to the treaty of Presburg, signed December 26, 1805.

Austria, Empire of (Ger. Oesterreich, “eastern kingdom”). One of the most extensive and most populous of European kingdoms, comprising the southeast part of Central Europe and more than half the territory of the Danube. It is composed of a union of different states, some of them at one time forming independent kingdoms, inhabited by races of people differing from each other in descent, language, customs, laws, and religion, held together as one empire by being united under one sovereign and one central government. This territory, which was comprised in Noricum and part of Pannonia, was annexed to the Roman empire in 33, was overrun by Huns, Avars, etc., in the 5th and 6th centuries, and taken from them by Charlemagne, who united it to Germany as the “eastern kingdom,” 791-96. In 1156 the country was made a hereditary duchy by the emperor Frederick I., and in 1453 was raised to an archduchy. Rodolph, count of Hapsburg, elected emperor of Germany in 1273, acquired Austria in 1278, and from 1493 to 1804 his descendants were emperors of Germany. On August 11, 1804, Francis II. became hereditary emperor of Austria. Vienna, the capital, was entered by a French army November 14, 1805, and evacuated January 12, 1806, Austria losing Venice and the Tyrol by the treaty of Presburg. Francis renounced the title of emperor of Germany August 6, 1806. Vienna was again taken by the French May 13, 1809, but was restored at the peace, October 14 following. In 1848 Lombardy revolted, and Milan and other disaffected towns formed an alliance with Charles Albert, king of Sardinia, who then invaded the Austrian territory at the head of a large army, victory seeming for a time to favor the Italians. In the following year, however, both the insurgents and their Sardinian ally were repeatedly defeated by the Austrian forces under Marshal Radetzky, and Lombardy was again brought under the Austrian sway, but was ceded to Sardinia in 1859. Prussia and Italy declared war against Austria in 1866; but, through the intervention of Napoleon, peace was concluded the same year, Austria losing Venice and the Quadrilateral.

Authority. In a general acceptation of the term, signifies a right to command and a consequent right to be obeyed. For the appointment of officers of the U.S. army, see Appointing Power. It appears that the sovereigns of Great Britain and other nations have the power to appoint and dismiss officers at pleasure.

Autocrat. A person vested with an absolute independent power, by which he is rendered unaccountable to any other for his actions. The power of the Athenian generals or commanders was usually limited, so that, at the expiration of their office, they were liable to render an account of their administration. But, on some extraordinary occasions, they were exempted from this restraint, and sent with a full and uncontrollable authority; in which sense they were styled autocrats. Somewhat similar was the Roman dictator. This term is sometimes applied to the czar of Russia.

Automatic Fire. A mixture of combustibles used by the Greeks. It was exploded by the rays of the sun.

Autonomy. The power or right of self-government. This was a privilege jealously preserved in all the important cities of ancient Greece, nearly every one of which was an independent state. The right to make their own laws and elect their own magistrates was also granted by the Romans to some of their cities, and was regarded as a mark of honor.

Autun (anc. Bibracte, Augustodunum). A town in France, department of the SaÖne-et-Loire. Here, in the year 21, two Roman legions under Silius gained a victory over Sacrovir, chief of the Ædui, who had assembled a considerable force to oppose Silius. The Germans besieged it in 355; captured by the Burgundians in 414; devastated by the Saracens in 731; burned by the Normans in 888 and 895. This city was besieged without success by Marshal d’Aumont in 1591. It was also the scene of hostile operations between Garibaldi and the Germans in the winter of 1870-71.

Auxerre. Chief town of the department of Yonne, France. It is supposed to be on the site of the ancient Autissiodorum, which was a flourishing town before the Roman invasion of Gaul. It successfully resisted the Huns under Attila, was taken from the Romans by Clovis, and after his death became a part of the kingdom of Burgundy. The English took it in 1359, but it was retaken by Du Guesclin. It was finally united to the kingdom of France by Louis XI. John, “Sans Peur,” duke of Burgundy (reigned from 1404-19), caused the assassination of Louis, duke of Orleans, in 1407, which gave rise to a civil war between the Burgundians and the dukes of Orleans and their allies, which was ended by the treaty of Auxerre, August 10, 1412.

Auxiliary. Foreign or subsidiary troops which are furnished to a belligerent power in consequence of a treaty of alliance, or for pecuniary considerations. Of the latter description may be considered the Hessians that were employed by Great Britain to enslave America.

Auxiliary War. See War, Auxiliary.

Auximum (now Osimo). A town in Italy, 9 miles from Ancona, which Belisarius (a great general of the Byzantine empire) captured from the Goths in 539.

Avallon (anc. Aballo). A town in the department of Yonne, France, which sustained a long siege and was dismantled during the reign of King Robert in the 10th century. It was sacked by the Saracens in 731, and by the Normans in 843; taken by Charles VII. in 1433, retaken by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, in 1455, and pillaged by the troops of the League in 1593.

Avant (Fr.). Foremost, most advanced towards the enemy; as, Avant-chemin couvert, the advanced covered way which is made at the foot of the glacis to oppose the approaches of an enemy. Avant-duc, the pile-work which is formed by a number of young trees on the edge or entrance of a river. They are driven into the ground with battering-rams or strong pieces of iron, to form a level floor by means of strong planks being nailed upon it, which serve for the foundation of a bridge. Boats are placed wherever the avant-duc terminates. The avant-duc is had recourse to when the river is so broad that there are not boats sufficient to make a bridge across. Avant-ducs are made on each side of the river. Avant-fosse, the ditch of the counterscarp next to the country. It is dug at the foot of the glacis. Avant-garde, advance-guard. Avant-trains, the limbers of field-pieces on which are placed boxes containing ammunition enough for immediate service.

Avars. Barbarians who ravaged Pannonia and annoyed the Eastern empire in the 6th and 7th centuries; subdued by Charlemagne about 799, after an eight years’ war.

Avein, or Avaine. A village in Luxembourg, where, on May 20, 1635, the French and Dutch, under Marshals de Chatillon and de Brere, defeated the Spaniards under Prince Thomas of Savoy. The prince lost 4000 men killed and wounded, 900 prisoners, and 14 pieces of cannon.

Aventaile. The movable part of a helmet.

Averysborough. A village of North Carolina, on Cape Fear River, about 40 miles south of Raleigh. During Gen. Sherman’s South Carolina campaign, in 1865, this place was the scene of an engagement between his forces and about 20,000 Confederates under Gen. Hardee, who were intrenched in a swampy neck between Cape Fear and South Rivers in order to check Sherman’s progress, and gain time for the concentration of Gen. Johnston’s forces in the rear at Raleigh, Smithfleld, or Goldsboro’. The position of the Confederates was a strong one to carry by reason of the nature of the ground, which was very soft; but after four hours’ fighting they were driven back to a second line better and more strongly held, losing 3 guns and 217 prisoners. Here the fighting was continued until late in the afternoon, when the entire Federal line advanced and drove the Confederates within their intrenchments, pressing them so hard that during the night of March 16, which was stormy, they retreated towards Smithfield. The Union loss was 12 officers and 65 men killed and 477 wounded.

Avesnes. A city in the department of the North, France; ruptured by Louis XI.; recaptured by the Spaniards in 1559; returned to France in 1659; occupied by the Russians in 1814, and by the Prussians in 1815.

Avesnes le Sec, Battle of. The French were defeated by the Austrians in this battle, September, 1793.

Avigliana. A city in Italy where the French defeated the Piedmontese in 1630.

Avignon. A city in Southeastern France; besieged and captured by Louis VIII. of France in 1226; ceded by Philip III. to the pope in 1273. The papal seat was removed by Clement V. to Avignon in 1309. In 1348, Clement VI. purchased the sovereignty from Jane, countess of Provence and queen of Naples. In 1408 the French, wearied of the schism, expelled Benedict XIII., and Avignon ceased to be the seat of papacy. Here were held nine councils (1080-1457). This city was seized and restored several times by the French kings; the last time in 1773. It was claimed by the National Assembly, 1791, and was confirmed to France by the congress of sovereigns in 1815. In October, 1791, horrible massacres took place here.

Avis, or Aviz. An order of knighthood in Portugal, instituted by Sancho, the first king of Portugal, in imitation of the order of Calatrava, and having, like it, for its object the subjugation of the Moors. The king of Portugal is grand-master of the order.

Avranches (anc. AbrancÆ). A city in the department of La Manche, France. It was a place of importance during the Roman period. Charlemagne fortified it, but it was taken by the Normans in 865. It was captured by Geoffrey Plantagenet in 1141; by Guy de Thouars in 1203; by the English in 1418; by the Calvinists in 1562; besieged by the royal troops in 1591.

Award. A judgment, the result of arbitration. In a military sense, the decision or sentence of a court-martial. To award medals of honor.

Awkward Squad. See Squad.

Axel. A town in the province of Zealand, Holland; captured by escalade from the Spaniards August 20, 1586, by Prince Maurice of Saxony, who was then but twenty years of age; captured by assault on May 16, 1747, by Marshal Maurice de Saxe.

Axis. A straight line, real or imaginary, about which a body revolves is called the axis of rotation. In gunnery, the axis of the piece is the central line of the bore of the gun.

Axum, or Axoum. A town in Abyssinia, said to have been the capital of a kingdom whose people were converted to Christianity by Frumentius, in the 4th century, and to have been the allies of Justinian, 533; captured and burned by the Arabs in 1532.

Aya-Bassi, or Bachi. A non-commissioned grade in the corps of janissaries, corresponding to that of corporal in modern armies.

Ayacucho. A city in Peru; here the Peruvians finally gained their independence by defeating the Spaniards, December 9, 1824. The Spaniards lost 6 generals killed, and General Lascerna wounded and taken prisoner; 700 men under Canterac and Valdez, who tried to escape, were forced to surrender.

Aylesbury. A town in Buckinghamshire, England; was reduced by the West Saxons in 571. St. O’Syth, beheaded by the pagans in Essex, was buried there, 600. William the Conqueror invested his favorites with some of its lands, under the tenure of providing straw for his bed-chambers, three eels for his use in winter, and in summer, straw, rushes, and two green geese, thrice every year.

Aylesford. A town in Kent, England; here, it is said, the Britons were victorious over the Saxon invaders, 455, and Horsa was killed.

Azaine (Fr.). A name formerly applied to a trumpet in the French army.

Azapes. Auxiliary troops which were levied by the Turks among the Christians (under their dominion), whom they exposed to the first attack of the enemy.

Azay-le-Rideau. A small town in the department of Indre-et-Loire, France, formerly fortified; it sustained several sieges during the reign of Charles VI.

Azaz. A fortress which was situated between Aleppo and Antioch; captured by the Saracens in 688 B.C.

Azmooz. A village in Switzerland, where the French under Massena defeated the Austrians and took 3000 prisoners.

Azoe, or Azov. A town in Russia in Europe, captured by Tamerlane in 1392, by the Turks in 1471, by the Russians in 1696; returned to the Turks in 1711; ceded to Russia in 1774. It was bombarded and destroyed by an allied English and French squadron in 1855.

Azof, Sea of. The Palus MÆotis of the ancients, communicates by the Strait of Yenikale, or Kertch (the Bosphorus Cimmerius), with the Black Sea, and is entirely surrounded by Russian territory. An expedition composed of British, French, and Turkish troops, commanded by Sir G. Brown, arrived at Kertch, May 24, 1855, when the Russians retired, after blowing up the fortifications. On the 27th the allies marched upon Yenikale, which also offered no resistance. On the same evening the allied fleet entered the sea of Azof, and in a few days completed their occupation of it, after capturing a large number of merchant vessels, etc. Immense quantities of stores were destroyed by the Russians to prevent them falling into the hands of the allies.

Azotus. See Ashdod.

Aztecs. The ruling tribe in Mexico at the time of the Spanish invasion, 1519.

Azure. A French word used in heraldry to signify blue. In engraving arms it is always represented by horizontal lines.